The Centre on Wednesday (May 13, 2026) approved a one-year extension in the tenure of Praveen Sood (IPS:1986:KN) as Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a day after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi strongly dissented against the process to select the next CBI chief.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the extension based on the recommendations of the high-powered selection committee. With this, Sood will continue as CBI Director beyond May 24, 2026 for another year or until further orders.
Notably, this is the second extension granted to Sood. In May 2025, he was given a one-year extension after the selection panel reportedly failed to arrive at a consensus on his successor. His original two-year tenure was scheduled to end on May 24, 2025.
A 1986-batch IPS officer of Karnataka cadre and former Karnataka DGP, Sood was appointed as CBI Director in May 2023, succeeding Subodh Kumar Jaiswal.
The latest extension came just a day after Rahul Gandhi submitted a dissent note during a meeting of the selection committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was also part of the panel.
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 key documents, including self-appraisal reports and 360-degree assessment reports of eligible officers.
He also accused the government of misusing the CBI against political opponents, journalists and critics, stating that he could not be part of a “biased exercise.”
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