The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led committee to select the next CBI Director will meet again next week as Thursday’s meeting remained inconclusive.
The meeting, held at the Prime Minister’s official residence, was attended by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who represents the Opposition.
“There was discussion on the names. There was no mention of their career details. We [referring to the CJI] have asked them to provide all necessary details. The next meeting will be convened, maybe, by next week,” Mr. Kharge told reporters after the meeting.
Though an official said a list of eligible officers, along with their dossiers, was shared with the panel members, Mr. Kharge is learnt to have said he didn’t have enough background information on the short-listed officers and needed time to go through their details.
According to a source who spoke to The Hindu, nearly 80 names, across four batches of the Indian Police Service (IPS), were short-listed in two annexures that were given to the panel members along with the agenda of the meeting.
The name of Rakesh Asthana of the Gujarat cadre too figured on the list, the source said, adding that there was no discussion on any name.
Time to scan dossiers
Mr. Kharge conveyed to the panel his inability to decide on a name until he went through dossiers. The Congress has taken the position that the selection should be based on seniority and merit, two eligibility criteria that are mentioned in the Lokpal Act that now determines the appointment of the CBI director.
The Congress leader, ahead of the meeting, consulted senior party colleagues to formulate the party’s strategy for the meeting. At the meeting, the members also expressed concern over the recent factional fight in the country’s premier investigating agency.
The Opposition leader is said to have told the panel that the spirit of the Vineet Narain judgement of the Supreme Court needed to be followed in the appointment of the new CBI Director.
The post has been lying vacant since January 10 after Alok Verma, involved in a bitter rivalry with Mr. Asthana over corruption charges, was eased out by the selection panel. Mr. Verma’s original tenure was of two years that would have ended on January 31.
However, after his exit, the government appointed M. Nageshwara Rao as interim Director. The Congress, however, took a strong view of the development, describing Mr Rao’s appointment as ‘illegal’.