Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said the next meeting of the high-level selection committee to pick the new director for the Central Bureau of Investigation will take place on Friday, PTI reported. The committee, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had met on January 24, but the discussions had remained inconclusive.
The next meeting will take place on Friday at 6 pm, Kharge said. Besides Modi and Kharge, the panel also comprises Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
The previous director, Alok Verma, was removed by the committee on January 10, two days after being reinstated by the Supreme Court. Verma was first removed by the government in October amid infighting at the agency and allegations of corruption. He then challenged the government’s move in the top court.
Kharge had opposed Verma’s removal at the January 10 meeting. That panel did not include Gogoi, who had recused himself as he was on the bench that had reinstated the former CBI director. Justice AK Sikri, who is the second most-senior judge in the top court, had taken Gogoi’s place at the meeting.
M Nageswara Rao, who was appointed interim director, promptly reversed all the transfers ordered by Verma after taking back charge.
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