The new rules notified by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), the CBI's controlling authority, provide for half of the 122 SP-level posts to be filled through deputation, including 18 officers from non-police services, while the remaining posts will be filled through promotions from within the CBI cadre.

Existing rules allow induction of officers of the IPS, all India services (like IAS, IFoS, etc), central police organisations, central government-organised Group A services, and state or Union Territory police organisations on deputation in the CBI.

“The number of officers from services other than the IPS to be appointed on the vacancies earmarked for deputation shall not exceed a maximum of 18,” a senior officer said, quoting the notification. 

Earlier, the rules allowed 20 per cent of the 75 deputation posts (totaling 15) to be filled by officers other than IPS, while the remaining were to be filled through promotion.

The rules specify that the deputation period, including any time spent in a previous ex-cadre post within the same or another central government organisation or department, “shall ordinarily not exceed four years".

The maximum age limit for appointment by deputation should not exceed 56 years as on the closing date of receipt of applications, the rules specified.

Non-Policemen As CBI Slueths

It is to be noted here that since 2014, an officer in the supervisory or investigative role in the CBI no longer needed to be a police officer by training. Since then, officers with backgrounds in telecom, accounts, revenue and other government services have been granted the status of superintendent of police (SP) or deputy inspector general (DIG) in the CBI.

An order issued by the DoPT on March 30, 2022, had stated that the “competent authority”, i.e. the CBI selection committee, has approved the induction of six SPs, of which four are not from the IPS.

These four officers include two from the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and one each from the Indian Telecom Service (ITS) and Indian Defence Account Service (IDAS).

A senior IPS officer in the CBI said although there have been some precedents of recruiting non-IPS officers since 2014, the government now appears to intend to bring in full-fledged “lateral entry” to the agency.

Earlier in August, the government had approved the deputation of five IRS officers in the CBI with the rank of SP for a period of five years. They included 2014-batch officers Srishti Chaudhary, Navin Kumar Soni, Savyasachi Kumar and Pankaj Rajaram Sonawane. Another officer, Krunal Chimanbhai Rathod, is of the 2016 batch. 

Incidentally, the CBI is considered to be a Central Police Organisation (CPO), having a majority of IPS officers serving in it, besides the agency’s own cadre. 

CBI insiders believe the expansion in role of non-IPS officers in investigation and supervision of cases indicates the expanding and diversified roles the agency now plays. They said there were some deliberations at the top level of the government to better equip the CBI to probe corruption cases, in an era of virtual transactions and rising cases of complex financial frauds, including illegal online transactions.