The ball is in the court of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to decide whom his government wants to appoint the new director of the Central Bureau of Investigation. As the rigmarole of technicalities of the high-powered selection committee ended late Monday evening, the government is likely to take a final call soon.
Both the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition have technically agreed on three names—1985 batch IPS officers Subodh Jaiswal and K.R. Chandra and 1986 batch officer V.S.K. Kaumudi. The short listing of three officers means that the prime minister can approve one among them, said an official. Sources in DoPT said no second meeting of the high-powered panel has been scheduled so far.
Government sources said with the technicalities in place, if the government wants, a notification may be issued anytime.
The selection process has played out in a unique way this time.
Firstly, the government delayed the appointment of the new CBI director for nearly six months by not calling for a select panel meet early this year when R.K. Shukla was set to retire in February. So, when CJI N.V. Ramana cited a rule that a police officer with less than six months of service should not be considered for the post, the chances of 1984 batch IPS officer Rakesh Asthana, who will retire on July 31 and Y.C. Modi, who retires on May 31, were scuttled.
Incidentally, the government and Leader of Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have recently blamed each other for delaying the meeting of the high-powered select committee.
Whether it was intentional or unintentional remains a matter speculation, but the consequences of the delay seem to have cost both Asthana and Modi a chance for the top job in the CBI. Speculation is, however, rife that the government may compensate its ''soon to retire'' officers with tenures in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
Secondly, government circles are abuzz about how the CJI did not want any controversy around the selection of the CBI director and made it known to the Modi government, which in turn did not deem it fit to stick its neck out for any particular officer especially at this stage .
Battling the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, the government’s image has already taken a hit and it did not want to take chances in the mid-term of its tenure.
So, when the rule cited by the CJI weeded out some names that could create controversy, both the Prime Minister and Chowdhury are learnt to have agreed. This paved way for the entry of the 1985 batch officers and high on the list were Jaiswal and Chandra.
Chandra, who is presently the chief of the Sashastra Seema Bal, is known as a stickler for rules. Chandra is known in the IPS circles as an ace interrogator. When he was additional director general of police in Patna, he was supposed to interrogate top Indian Mujahideen operative Yasin Bhatkal, arrested on the India-Nepal border near Motihari in Bihar in August 2013. A Bihar cadre IPS officer said the Nitish Kumar government developed cold feet at the last moment and Chandra was stopped and the case was handed over to the NIA.
Later, he came to Delhi as the chief of the bureau of civil aviation security and is presently serving as the SSB chief with more than six months of service left.
Jaiswal, who is the head of the CISF, is known in police circles as the favourite of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Jaiswal, a former DGP of Maharashtra, was first considered for the post of Commissioner of Police in Delhi, but sources said he was hesitant given the political tussle of the police in the national capital. Ever since he came to Delhi on central deputation, Jaiswal’s peers felt he was being groomed for a bigger job.
It was felt he had the capability to head the country's external intelligence agency, R&AW,as he had nearly a decade of experience in the spy agency. If he is selected as the new CBI chief, the spies won't be surprised.
The new CBI director will hold office for a period of not less than two years from the date on which he or she takes charge.
The third candidate, V.S.K. Kaumudi, is seen as a dark horse given his reputation of high integrity and experience in investigating cases. Kaumudi, who hails from Patna, was part of the probe team that served summons to RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam case. He belongs to the Andhra Pradesh cadre and has served as ADG in the NIA.
''He is known to be strict about the legal provisions and spends time analysing legal aspects of each file before he clears it,'' remarked one officer.
On Monday, the select panel was worried about just that. As Justice Ramana insisted on sticking to the laid down rules and not deviating from it, Chowdhury said the list of final candidates was not the problem, instead the problem was with the government. He said the high-powered committee should have done the short-listing instead of the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) under the PMO.
But the government sources said it was already too late as the process of selection that had technically begun was followed till the end.
After Chowdhury told the government ''not to take the committee for granted'' and gave his dissent in writing, the ball was back in the government’s court.
With the post of the CBI Director lying vacant since February 3, the government may not want to delay the matter any longer or rake up fresh controversies. Who will be the least controversial candidate and the final choice of the government may become clear in the coming days.
