CBI director set for one-year extension as PM-led committee fails to agree on successor

A high-level committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi as members, met on the evening of 5 May at the Prime Minister’s Office.

CBI Director Praveen Sood is likely to receive a one-year extension, as the committee tasked with selecting a new director failed to reach a consensus on the shortlisted candidates.

An official notification regarding the extension is expected to be issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, the nodal ministry overseeing the premier investigative agency.

Although there has been no official word on the discussions during the meeting, sources indicated that the deliberations were inconclusive, with panel members unable to agree on appointing a new director.

According to the law, the incumbent CBI Director may be granted an extension of up to one year.

Sood, a 1986-batch IPS officer from the Karnataka cadre, served as the Director General of Police of Karnataka before being appointed to lead the CBI. He assumed office as Director on 25 May 2023.

This marks Gandhi’s first participation in the selection committee meeting to choose a new CBI Director since his appointment as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The timing of the meeting is particularly significant, coming in the wake of the recent deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, and represents the first closed-door meeting between the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice, and the Leader of the Opposition.