CBI chief selection: CJI NV Ramana's citation of law puts two govt choices out of race

As per a report by NDTV, a 90-minute meeting was held by the CJI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Opposition leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury last evening over the appointment of the next CBI chief.

In an unprecedented scenario, the CJI raised a "six-month rule", which eliminated two government choices, Border Security Force (BSF) chief Rakesh Asthana and National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief YC Modi, from the race.

CJI Ramana also referred to a Supreme Court judgement that had stated officers who have less than six months in service should not be considered for any post of police chief.

While Asthana is set to retire on Aug 31, YC Modi is retiring on May 31.

Chowdhury, who is the Lok Sabha leader of the Congress, backed the citation of the law but also accused the government of undertaking a casual approach in listing the candidates.

"The way the procedure was followed, it was in conflict of (with) the mandate of the committee. On May 11, I was given 109 names... and today by 1 pm, 10 names were shortlisted while by 4 pm, six names were shortlisted. This casual approach of the department of personnel and training is highly objectionable," the senior politician said as quoted by NDTV.

After the meeting, the CJI, the Prime Minister and Chowdhury zeroed in on three names, former Maharashtra Director General of Police Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) KR Chandra and Home Ministry Special Secretary VSK Kaumudi for the post.

Reportedly, Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, who is the senior most among the three, is the frontrunner to become the chief of India's premier investigating agency.