Karnataka Police chief Praveen Sood appointed as new CBI director

www.mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, May 14, 2023: Karnataka Director General of Police (DGP) Praveen Sood will become the next head of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), according to various reports. While The Hindu had reported that his name had been finalised for the top post, The Tribune reported that he was one among the three IPS officers who have been shortlisted for the job.

An official notification announcing Sood’s appointment was issued on Sunday.

Sood is 1986-batch IPS officer of the Karnataka cadre. The other two names included Madhya Pradesh DGP Sudhir Saxena (1987-batch MP cadre) and Dinkar Gupta (1987-batch Punjab cadre)

The Hindu, quoting sources, said that Sood has been chosen by the panel comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, and Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud. It is learnt that Chowdhury has submitted a dissent note against the recommendation of Sood “as he was not among the original panel of officers who were shortlisted for the top CBI job and his name was included at the last minute,” the newspaper reported citing sources.

The newspaper also said that the meeting of the panel for the selection of names took place on May 13, Saturday – the day when the Congress achieved a massive victory in the Karnataka state assembly elections. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar had accused him of being biased towards the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Sood was made the Karnataka DGP in 2018. He was due to retire in May 2024. Now that he has become the CBI boss, he would get the job for a fixed two-year tenure starting May 2023.