With a month to go before the current Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director’s tenure ends, the power corridor is abuzz about who will lead the agency next. Subodh Kumar Jaiswal’s tenure as CBI chief ends on May 25. The amended Delhi Police Special Establishment Act allows the government to provide a year-to-year extension to the CBI director for up to five years. But with the role of the selection committee, which has the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India as its members, mandated for approving an extension to the incumbent, lists are being drawn of possible successors in case CJI DY Chandrachud and LOP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury differ with the government.
Karnataka twist
The list of probables who could succeed Jaiswal has a Karnataka twist. 1986-batch officers MA Ganapathy, director general of the National Security Guard (NSG), and Praveen Sood, Karnataka’s director general of police, are the most senior officers eligible who have more than six months of tenure left as mandated. Ganapathy has served in the CBI and therefore ticks the box of having experience in anti-corruption investigation. But both Rishi Shukla and Subodh Jaiswal made the cut irrespective of no prior CBI or Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) experience.
Praveen Sood, who has mostly served in Karnataka, has been in the crosshairs of Karnataka Congress leading to speculation that he could be rehabilitated to the Centre in case Bengaluru sees a change of guard. DK Shivakumar called Sood “nalayak” (useless) in March, and said the Congress will take action if it comes to power. Sood is yet to be empaneled as a DG-rank officer for central deputation, so the May 13th results for the Karnataka assembly elections would be keenly watched by his supporters too.
NIA, Delhi Police, BSF also watching
The deliberations for the CBI top post are being keenly watched by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Delhi Police, and Border Security Force (BSF) too. Dr Sujoy Thaosen, director general of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) holds the additional charge for DG BSF. It is expected that following the Karnataka elections, a decision could be taken on giving the BSF a full-time DG. Praveen Sood, as per officials, is a contender for this post too.
NIA chief Dinkar Gupta of the 1987 batch and Delhi Police commissioner Sanjay Arora of the 1988 batch are also likely to make it to the list of names put before the selection committee for CBI director. Arora, a Tamil Nadu cadre officer was hand-picked by union home minister Amit Shah to lead Delhi Police after his stint as director general of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). An AGMUT-cadre officer has not led Delhi Police since Rakesh Asthana in July 2021 got the post. Amid a sharp attack from the Aam Aadmi Party against the Delhi Police over crimes like court shootouts, communal tensions, gory murders, and hit-and-runs, proposals have been made to bring back AGMUT-cadre officers as Delhi’s top cop.
MP and West Bengal connect
1988-batch officer Suman Bala Sahu of the West Bengal cadre is the only woman officer likely on the list of probables. Madhya Pradesh DGP Sudhir Saxena of the 1987 batch, who has served in the union home ministry and headed the committee to probe the breach of the Prime Minister’s security in Punjab’s Ferozepur last year, could also make it to the list presented to the selection committee.
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