Who is Praveen Sood? Meet the CBI Director appointed by the PM-led three member committee.

The government order brought forward on May 14, Sunday, has appointed Praveen Sood, a 1986-batch Indian Police Service officer as the head of the country's apex probe bureau, the Central Bureau of Investigation. The appointment has been done through a selection committee led by PM Narendra Modi.

After Subodh Kumar Jaiswal finishes his tenure on the 25th of May, Praveen Sood, the 59-year-old IPS officer will be taking charge as the chief of CBI.

After Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, Praveen Sood is the senior-most Indian Police Service (IPS) officer in India. 

Knowing Praveen Sood, the new chief of CBI, is better...

The new head of CBI, Praveen Sood, 59, is presently the Inspector General and the Director General of Police, in the state of Karnataka. Currently, the man is posted in Bengaluru. As per his website, IIT Delhi and IIM-Bangalore are his alma maters. Post joining the field of bureaucracy, Praveen Sood began his career being an Assistant Superintendent of Police in Mysuru, in the year 1989. Prior to getting posted to Bangalore city, he served as Superintendent of Police in Raichur and Bellary. In Bangalore, he served as Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order.

The man then became the Police Advisor to the Government of Mauritius in the year 1999. He served in this post for a period of 3 years. After this, Sood went on a sabbatical to pursue his Post Graduation from IIM in Public Policy and Management. He also went to the Maxwell School of Governance, at Syracuse University, New York.

His website says that Praveen Sood has also been conferred with Chief Minister's Gold Medal. The medal has been awarded for his excellence in service in the year 1996. Moreover, he has also been conferred with the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in the year 2002, along with the prestigious President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in the year 2011, as per the website.

Praveen Sood has held a wide range of posts throughout his career so far, including the post of Additional Commissioner of Police in the state of Bengaluru, Principal Secretary of the Home Department, Commissioner of Police of Mysuru, and the Managing Director of Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation. Not to miss, the man has also served as the Commissioner of Police, in Bengaluru city. Additionally, he was also the Director General of Police, CID, Economic offenses, and Special Units. 

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Appointment of the CBI Director

The appointment of the CBI Director is done through a panel consisting of the Prime Minister of India, the Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of the Opposition. 

The process of appointing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer has been set by the Vineet Narain case judgment (1997) by the Supreme Court of India. Furthermore, a few changes were made by the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, of 1946. Section 4A of the DSPE Act talks about the appointment of the CBI Director. However, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act of 2013 further made some changes to the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. These amendments state that the Director of CBI shall be appointed by the Central Government. This shall be done on the recommendation of a committee consisting of three members. These members are the Prime Minister of the country as the Chairperson of the committee, the Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. 

However, the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Act of the year 2014 brought forward a change in the creation of the committee that appoints the Director of CBI. The change stated that in case there is no recognized leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, one of the members of the committee would then be the leader of the single largest opposition party.

A bit about the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

The Central Bureau of Investigation was established in the year 1963. It was set through a Ministry of Home Affairs resolution. It was the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1962 to 1964) that recommended the establishment of the CBI. It is important to note that the CBI is not a statutory body, The CBI is the chief investigating agency of the Central Government, and the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act of 1946 confers powers to the body. The Central Bureau of Investigation is a nodal police agency in the country. It manages investigations on behalf of Interpol Member nations. Today, the Central Bureau of Investigation falls under the ambit of administrative control of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions. 

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