Supreme Court Judge Justice N V Ramana Thursday recused himself from hearing a plea challenging the Centre's decision to appoint M Nageswara Rao as interim CBI director.

Justice Ramana became the third judge of the apex court to recuse himself from hearing the matter as Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi and Justice A K Sikri had earlier recused themselves from adjudicating the case.

NGO Common Cause has approached the top court challenging the Centre's decision to appoint Rao as the interim CBI director.

While recusing himself from hearing the matter, Justice Ramana said Rao is from his home state and he had attended the wedding ceremony of his daughter.

Justice Ramana referred the matter to the CJI to list it before an appropriate bench.