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New Delhi: In 2012, the Union government disclosed detailed records relating to the appointment of the CBI director under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, including selection committee minutes, internal file notings, the names of officers under consideration and correspondence between top government departments.

Fourteen years later, the same process has effectively been declared confidential.

In response to an RTI application filed by transparency campaigner Commodore Lokesh Batra (Retd.), the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has refused to disclose records related to the appointment of the new CBI director, citing exemptions under sections 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. That process had culminated on May 13 this year with Praveen Sood receiving a second one-year extension in office.

The refusal marks a sharp departure from the government’s own past practice.

“You can check the 55-page document of the 2012 RTI on the CBI director’s appointment,” Commodore Batra told The Wire. “In 2012, the DoPT provided my RTI [response] with complete information and answers as requested concerning selection of the CBI director, why denial of information now? I have asked exactly the same question 14 years later, they responded in a jiffy that they cannot share the information,” he said.

Commodore Batra had first sought information in November 2012, when then-CBI director A.P. Singh was nearing retirement. His RTI application sought details of the selection process for the next CBI director, including the names of shortlisted IPS officers, file notings, selection committee records and copies of relevant files.

The DoPT in January 2013 then disclosed extensive records spanning dozens of pages to the queries Commodore Batra had raised.

Exclusively accessed by The Wire, these documents from 2012 provide a rare insight into the internal workings of one of the country’s most........

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