CBI special director Praveen Sinha has been given a six-month extension in service. Sinha, a 1988-batch Gujarat cadre IPS officer, was to retire today.
Sinha was appointed as special director of CBI, a post earlier held by Rakesh Asthana, in June last year. The post was vacant for the last three years.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for extension in service of Shri Praveen Sinha, IPS (GJ: 1988), Special Director, CBI for a period of six months beyond his date of superannuation i.e. 30.04.2022 in relaxation of Rule 16(1) of the All India Services (Death-Cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958 as a special case in public interest,” a government notification read.
Last year, the Centre issues ordinances by which the tenures of directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate can now be up to a maximum of five years. The Centre’s move had drawn sharp reactions from the opposition that alleged that the government has used the two agencies as “henchmen” who are now being rewarded so that “malicious prosecution” is used to silence dissenting voices.
Earlier, the directors of CBI and ED had a fixed tenure of two years from the date of their appointment in the wake of the ruling of the Supreme Court in the famous Vineet Narain case.
The post of special director of CBI is the second senior-most position in the probe agency after the director.
Sinha earlier served as the CBI’s acting director after Rishi Kumar Shukla had retired on February 3. In November 2021, he was elected as a delegate for Asia on the executive committee of the Interpol.
