SC to hear challenge to appointment of Nageshwar Rao as CBI Interim Director next week

The Supreme Court today agreed to hear next week the petition challenging the appointment of Nageshwar Rao as Interim Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)..The PIL filed by the NGO Common Cause challenges the appointment of Nageshwar Rao as the Interim Director after former Director Alok Verma was transferred out of the agency..The matter was mentioned today before the Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices L Nageswara Rao and Sanjay Kishan Kaul; an urgent hearing in the matter was sought..While the Court declined an urgent hearing, it agreed to hear the case in the coming week..The petitioner contends that the appointment of Nageshwar Rao is illegal, arbitrary, mala fide and in violation of the provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act and the judgment of the Supreme Court in Alok Verma v. Union of India and Common Cause v. Union of India..Besides praying for quashing the appointment of Nageshwar Rao as Interim Director, the petitioner has sought issuance of an appropriate writ for appointment of a Director, CBI as per the procedure established by law and appropriate directions to ensure transparency in the process of short-listing, selection and appointment of the Director of the CBI..The petitioner NGO has also prayed that records of deliberations and criteria related to short-listing and selection of the Director, CBI be recorded and made available to citizens in consonance with the provisions of the Right to Information Act (RTI Act).