New Delhi: A high-powered committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Friday to appoint a new CBI chief but the outcome of their discussions remained inconclusive as Kharge, declined to accept some names suggested by the government, people familiar with the development said.
At Friday’s meeting, after the government submitted 30 names for the post of CBI director and suggested three or four candidates, Kharge insisted on receiving another pruned list of the five top Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in terms of seniority, integrity and experience in handling anti-corruption probes.
The names were picked from the earlier list of 79 officers belonging to top four batches – 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985 – of the Indian Police Service (IPS) that were submitted to the panel at an inconclusive January 24 meeting. On that day, Kharge had insisted on getting detailed background information on all 79 shortlisted officers.
The other members of the panel are Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and the Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge.
It was the second panel meeting to be held since Alok Verma’s removal from the post last month. Verma was removed after an spat between him and his deputy, Rakesh Asthana, gave rise to allegations of political interference in the probe body’s functioning.
The Supreme Court on Friday termed considerations of transparency in the CBI director's appointment as "premature", saying that the need of the hour was to seat somebody at the head of the agency immediately.
