Mallikarjun Kharge dissents, but PM Narendra Modi, CJI agree on Alok Verma as CBI chief

NEW DELHI: The government has approved the appointment of Delhi Police commissioner Alok Verma as the new CBI chief in keeping with the recommendation of the selection committee.
The proceedings of the three-member collegium comprising PM Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India J S Khehar and head of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge proposed the appointment by a majority decision.
Kharge gave a dissenting note stating that the selection should be on the basis of both seniority and merit.It is understood that he had pitched for the candidature of R K Dutta, currently special secretary in the home ministry.
The PM and the CJI, however, felt that Verma was well suited for the job and his seniority should be taken into account. Verma will assume charge at a time when the agency is being accused by political parties of motivated probes in the context of cases against Trinamool and AAP members.
The government decision comes ahead of the hearing in Supreme Court on Friday on a plea filed by an NGO challenging the appointment of Rakesh Asthana as acting director of the CBI after the retirement of Anil Sinha.
Official sources said Verma, a 1979 batch IPS officer from the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre, has been appointed CBI director for a period of two years by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) from the date he assumes office.
Verma, who took charge as Delhi Police chief in February last year, is likely to join in a couple of days as the CBI director's post has been lying vacant since Anil Sinha retired in the first week of December.
Kharge reportedly gave his dissent note on selecting Verma citing that he had no experience of having served in CBI and he also had very little vigilance experience.
The PM led panel had last met on Monday but the meeting was inconclusive.
V erma, 59, was due to retire from service in July and will now have a fixed tenure of two years. He had worked in various positions in Delhi Police, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Mizoram and in Intelligence Bureau.
He took charge of Delhi Police from B S Bassi after relinquishing charge as director general of Tihar Jail. Verma, who will be the 27th director of CBI, has not worked in the agency before.
Verma takes over at a time when the CBI is probing several crucial cases including the Rs 3,767 crore VVIP chopper scam, in which former IAF chief S P Tyagi was arrested last month. Several defence scandals, the Embraer deal, coal and 2G scams, chit fund cases, Vyapam scam, NRHM scam and non-performing assets of public sector banks are other cases being probed by the agency.
W hile deciding Verma's name, the PM led collegium had also discussed the names of three other strong contenders - R K Dutta, Maharashtra DGP Satish Mathur and ITBP director general Krishna Chaudhary. Verma's appointment will also leave Delhi Police headless and the government will have to soon choose the next commissioner. Two senior IPS officers - Dharmendra Kumar and Deepak Misra - are in line for the post.