Centre extends CBI Director Praveen Sood's tenure till May 2027
According to an official order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the extension was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet based on the recommendations of the Selection Committee.
The Centre on Wednesday approved a one-year extension in the tenure of Praveen Sood as Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation beyond May 24, 2026, a day after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi strongly dissented against the selection process for the next CBI chief.
According to an official order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the extension was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet based on the recommendations of the Selection Committee. Sood, a 1986-batch Karnataka cadre IPS officer, will now continue to head the agency for another year.
The latest extension came a day after Gandhi had submitted a two-page dissent note during a meeting of the high-powered selection panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The committee also included Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
In his dissent note, Gandhi alleged that the government had reduced the selection process to a mere formality and claimed he was denied access to crucial documents, including self-appraisal and 360-degree reports of eligible candidates.
“I cannot abdicate my constitutional duty by participating in this biased exercise,” Gandhi said, while also accusing the government of misusing the CBI to target opposition leaders, journalists and critics.
Moreover, this is the second extension for the CBI director.
In May 2025, he was given a one-year extension after no consensus on his successor could be reached. The original two-year term of Sood was supposed to end on May 24 last year.
The former Karnataka DGP was appointed as CBI Director in May 2023 for a two-year term, replacing his predecessor, Subodh Jaiswal.
The appointment of the CBI Director is done by the central government on the recommendation of a three-member selection committee, which is headed by the Prime Minister and comprises the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.