New Delhi: The Centre is preparing to convene a meeting of the collegium, headed by the Prime Minister, on December 26 to finalise the name for the full-time CBI director. Currently Rakesh Asthana, a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer of 1984-batch, is holding additional charge of the CBI director.

Sources said, “Meeting of the collegium is expected to take place on December 26”. The government has already prepared a list of senior IPS officials (all from 1979 batch to 1982) for the coveted post, they added. Among the prominent names, which could make the cut as the director CBI, are Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) director-general Archana Ramasundram (1980-batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre), Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) director-general M.C. Borwankar, Delhi police commissioner Alok Verma (1979-batch IPS officer of the Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories cadre), ITBP director-general Krishna Chaudhary, special secretary in the home ministry R.K. Dutta (1981 batch Karnataka cadre) and director-general of police (Maharashtra) Satish Mathur (1981 batch IPS).

The appointment of Rakesh Asthana as interim chief of the CBI has already been challenged in the Supreme Court. After the enactment of the Lok Pal Act — meant to give more teeth to the CBI — the director of the agency has to be appointed by a collegium of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India or his nominee and the Leader of the Opposition. “As per the existing norm, the Central government has to appoint the CBI director on the recommendation of the collegium only,” sources said.

According to the Supreme Court guidelines, officials having experience in anti-corruption or CBI from the senior most four batches of IPS cadre will be empanelled, following which a screening of three officers would be sent to the collegium,” sources said.