Govt sets in motion CBI chief selection process

With just a week left for controversial Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ranjit Sinha to retire, the government has started the process to select a new chief for the probe agency.

The aim is to finish the procedure within a week, but appointing a new director by December 2 appears to be gigantic task for the government.

As the first step, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has sought the names of eligible senior IPS officers to form a panel for the selection committee to choose the new CBI director.

The Home Ministry will now send the names to the DoPT, which will then send a panel of officers to the selection panel, as envisaged in the Lokpal Act.

However, the government will have to enact amendments in Lokpal Act and Delhi Special Police Establishment Act to appoint the new director.

According to Lokpal Act, the CBI chief has to be appointed by the Centre on the basis of the recommendation of the selection committee headed by the prime minister, and consisting of the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge nominated by him.