Justice Ramana recuses from hearing plea challenging Nageshwar Rao’s appointment as interim CBI boss

NEW DELHI: Justice NV Ramana on Thursday recused from hearing a plea of NGO Common Cause challenging  M Nageswara Rao's appointment as interim Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Justice Ramana also sought transparency in the process of short-listing, selection and appointment of the CBI Director, ANI reported.

Justice NV Ramana recuses from hearing a plea of NGO Common Cause against M Nageswara Rao's appointment as interim Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and has sought transparency in the process of short-listing, selection and appointment of the CBI Director.

— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2019

On January 21, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on Monday recused himself from hearing a plea challenging Nageswara's appointment saying that he is a member of the Selection Committee to pick the new CBI Director.

Nageshwar Rao was made the interim director of the country's premier investigating agency on January 10 hours after the removal of Alok Verma from the post of CBI Director. Rao will discharge his duties as CBI boss till a new appointment or until further orders.

Verma was sacked as CBI director after a two-hour-long meeting of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Selection Committee in New Delhi on January 10. The panel also included Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the largest party in the Lok Sabha and the second senior-most Supreme Court judge, AK Sikri. During the meeting, the panel decided to remove Alok Verma as CBI chief with a 2-1 majority.

Rao, a 1986-batch Odisha cadre IPS officer, was first given the command of CBI on October 23, 2018, after the government had decided to send Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana on a 'long leave' following a public spat between them.