At a meeting of PM-led panel to select the new CBI Director, SC Chief Justice NV Ramana reportedly cited the ‘six-month' minimum remaining service rule that eliminated BSF chief Rakesh Asthana and NIA head YC Modi, who were in the fray, among others. The rule was introduced by the SC order of March 13, 2019, in the Prakash Singh case regarding appointment of state police chief. It has since been extended to selection of CBI boss too. The SC bench led by then CJI Justice Ranjan Gogoi said, “recommendation for appointment to the post of DGP should be purely on the basis of merit from officers who have a minimum residual tenure of six months”. Asthana retires on August 31 and Modi on May 31.