The Centre on Sunday announced Praveen Sood, a 1986-batch IPS officer of the Karnataka cadre, as the new Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Sood, who is currently serving as the Director-General of Police (DGP) in Karnataka, will take over as the Director of CBI for a period of two years after replacing outgoing agency chief Subodh Kumar Jaiswal.
In a statement by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, it read: “Approval of the Competent Authority is hereby conveyed to the appointment of Sri Praveen Sood IPS as Director Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a period of two years from the date of assumption of the charge of the office vice Sri Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, IPS, consequent upon completion of his tenure."
The panel responsible for selecting the CBI director consisted of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, and Leader of the Opposition (Congress) in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, according to a The Hindu report.
DGP of Madhya Pradesh Sudhir Saxena was also considered for the Director of CBI position, the publication stated.
As per the report, Congress leader Chowdhury had submitted a dissent note against Sood’s name as he was not among the original panel of officers who were shortlisted for the top CBI job.
Sood has been serving as the Karnataka DGP for three years and is an alumnus of IIT-Delhi. He was scheduled to retire in May 2024 but will now have a fixed tenure of two years and remain in office until at least May 2025. He hails from Himachal Pradesh.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner and 1985-batch IPS officer from the Maharashtra cadre, Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, succeeded RK Shukla as the CBI Director on May 26, 2021.
The selection of the CBI chief is made by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, CJI, and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, and the director holds a fixed tenure of two years, extendable up to five years.
