Karnataka DGP Praveen Sood To Be Next CBI Director

Karnataka Director General of Police Praveen Sood is slated to become the next Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director.

On Saturday, Praveen Sood’s name was finalized by a three-member panel comprising of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, and Leader of the Opposition (Congress) in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

According to placed sources, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has reportedly approved Sood’s appointment based on the panel’s recommendation.

During a meeting, the committee shortlisted three senior IPS officers from Karnataka, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh cadres for the post of CBI Director.

Mr. Chowdhury submitted a dissent note against Mr. Sood’s name as he was not among the original panel of officers who were short-listed for the top CBI job.

Notably, Mr. Sood belongs to the 1986 batch IPS officer of the Karnataka cadre. He was appointed as the State DGP three years ago. He hails from Himachal Pradesh and is an alumnus of IIT-Delhi. He was to retire in May 2024, but will now get a two-year fixed tenure and be in office till May 2025 at least.

The CBI was on the lookout for a new director, as the tenure of current Director Subodh Kumar Jaiswal nears its end. Jaiswal, a 1985-batch IPS officer from Maharashtra cadre and former Mumbai Police Commissioner, took over as the CBI Director on May 26, 2021, succeeding R.K. Shukla. 

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