The Central Bureau of Investigation was appointed as the special police establishment in 1941. However, the first CBI director was appointed in 1963. Central Bureau of Investigation derives its authority from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
A CBI Director heads the organization and is responsible for its administration. Check the List of CBI Directors of India in detail.
CBI Directors of India
D.P Kohli (1963-1968)
D.P Kohli was the founding director of CBI. he held the office from 1st April 1963 to 31st May 1968. Before being employed as the Director of CBI, D.P Kohli was an Inspector General of Police. He had also been the Police Chief in Madhya Pradesh.
In 1967, he was also awarded one of the most prestigious awards of the country, called Padma Bhushan.
F.V Arul (1968-1971)
F.V Arul was born on 24 November 1917 in Vazhaiyadi, Nazareth. He completed his studies from Loyola College and Madras Christian College in Chennai.
He pursued his career in 1938 and served the nation as DSP, SDPO, ASP, and senior superintendent of the West Godavari, Kadapa district, Tiruchirapalli district, and Prakasam district.
S.N Mathur (1977-1977)
S.N Mathur served as the Director of CBI from 29 March 1977 to 2nd May 1977. Other than that, he has also been the director-general of police in Punjab.
C.V Narasimhan (1977-1977)
He completed his schooling from P.S. High School, Mylapore, and further went to Loyola College, Madras. In 1948, he topped the first batch of IPS. He was a lover of the Tamil language and literature. Other than that, he also headed the Tamil Sangam in Delhi.
John Lobo (1977-1979)
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John Lobo is one of the most remembered officers of the CBI. He was humility personified. Lobo was a high ranking naval officer. He was a student of English Literature at the St. Xaviers College. John Lobo was blessed with three sons and two daughters.
M.G Katre (1985-1989)
M.G Katre completed his schooling from Satara and after that, went to the Government Law College in Mumbai. In 1952, he joined the IPS Cadre and posted as an assistant police superintendent at Nandurbar.
He went to Amravati as a Police Superintendent, later. In 1985, he was appointed as the director of CBI by then Prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi.
A.P Mukherjee (1989-1990)
A.P Mukherjee was the CBI Director from the year 1989 to 1990. He also published a controversial book by the name of ‘ Unknown Facets of Rajiv Gandhi, Jyoti Basu, and Indrajit Gupta’.
One of the controversial claims of the book involves A.P. stating that Rajiv Gandhi wanted the commissions from defense suppliers to be added with more funds and used for “inescapable expenses of the party”.
S. K. Datta (1990-1993)
In 1993, SK Datta retired as Director of the CBI. He has written his experiences for the benefit of readers, police personnel, politicians, professionals, journalists. In his 34-year career, his thinking mind centered on innovative ways.
Being an SP of a district he saw cruel treatment to Dalits and became a protector for social justice. Something that he had already assimilated as a college student along with JN Dixit, the former Foreign Secretary.
Joginder Singh (1996-1997)
Other than being a CBI Director, Joginder Singh was an IPS Officer, served the independent non-executive Director of Sunil Healthcare Ltd. and the director of Pamwi Tissues Ltd.
Before joining the CBI he held positions of a police superintendent, DIG, IG Police, Karnataka, Director of Youth Services, and more.
R. K. Raghavan (1999-2001)
R.K Raghavan was the CBI director from January 1999 to April 2001. He headed the probe which brushed off Narendra Modi’s involvement in the 2002 Gujarat Riots.
After being the CBI Director for almost two years, R.K Raghavan was appointed as India’s High Commissioner to Cyprus. In 2003, he was appointed as the head of the anti-ragging monitoring committee.
P.C Sharma (2001-2003)
P.C Sharma is known to bring professionalism to the organization. He never compromised on the quality of the work. Sharma set up a model for the industry and people to date work by his ethics. He believed in the human rights approach in policing.
U. S. Misra (2003-2005)
U.S. Misra was an IAS Officer from the batch of 1968. His name was recommended by P.C Sharma. He was also elected as the vice president of Interpol for one year. He has also been awarded by the President’s Police Medal and the Indian Police Medal.
Vijay Shanker Tiwari (2005-2008)
Following the retirement of US Misra, Vijay Shanker Tiwari was appointed as the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation. He was an IPS Officer from the batch of 1969.
Before being appointed as the CBI Director he served the country being a Director-General. He was also posted in the National Disaster, Civil Defence and Home Guards.
Ashwani Kumar (2008-2010)
Other than serving the nation being the CBI Director, Ashwani Kumar worked as a Governor of the state of Nagaland and Manipur. Ashwani Kumar was also the DGP of Himachal Pradesh from 2006 to 2008.
Ranjit Sinha (2012-2014)
He was born in Jamshedpur and studied geology from Patna University. From 2008 to 2011, Ranjit Sinha worked as a Director General of Railway Protection Force.
The Bharatiya Janata Party opposed the appointment of Sinha as a CBI Director. He played a vital role in the Fodder Scam Case, The Rail Bribery Case, Coalgate Draft Report, and more.
Anil Sinha (2014-2016)
Anil Sinha was born on 16 January 1956 and he is a graduate from Harvard University. He is a post-graduate in Psychology and holds an MPhil degree in strategic studies.
Sinha also attended the National Defence College, India. Sinha has also served as an SP, DIG, IG, and ADG. He received the Police Medal for the Meritorious Service, back in the year 2000.
Rakesh Asthana (Special Director) (2016-2017)
Rakesh Asthana went to Netarhat Residential School, He was given the responsibility to investigate the fodder scam. The bomb blast in 2008 in Ahmedabad was also investigated by him. He was an IPS Officer from the batch of 1984.
M. Nageshwar Rao (interim) (2018-2019)
M.N Rao was an IPS Officer from the batch of 1986. He was appointed as an interim director and it lasted only for 22 days. Before that, Rao served the country as a Joint Director.
M.N Rao is a post-graduate in Chemistry from Osmania University. Before joining the IPS, he did his research at IIT Madras.
Rishi Kumar Shukla (2019-Present)
He was born on 23rd August 1960. Rishi Kumar Shukla is a post-graduate in Philosophy and he is also trained in crisis management. In 2016, he has been the director-general of Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh before being appointed as a CBI Chief.
Rishi Kumar Shukla has also been the chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Police Housing Corporation in Bhopal.
List of the CBI Directors of India
| Tenure | CBI Director of India |
| 1st April 1963 – 31st May 1968 | D. P. Kohli |
| 31st May 1968 – 6th May 1971 | F. V. Arul |
| 6th May 1971 – 29th March 1977 | D. Sen |
| 29th March 1977 – 2nd May 1977 | S. N. Mathur |
| 2nd May 1977- 25th November 1977 | C. V. Narasimhan |
| 25th November 1977 – 30th June 1979 | John Lobo |
| 30th June 1979 – 24th January 1980 | R. D. Singh |
| 24th January 1980 – 28th February 1985 | J. S. Bajwa |
| 28th February 1985 – 31st October 1989 | M. G. Katre |
| 31st October 1989 – 11th January 1990 | A. P. Mukherjee |
| 11th January 1990 – 14th February 1990 | R. Sekhar |
| 14th February 1990 – 31st July 1993 | S. K. Datta |
| 31st July 1993 – 31st July 1996 | K. V. R. Rao |
| 31st July 1996 – 30th June 1997 | Joginder Singh |
| 30th June 1997 – 31st January 1998 | R. C. Sharma |
| 31st January 1998 – 31st March 1998 | D. R. Karthikeyan (acting) |
| 31st March 1998 – 4th January 1999 | T.N Mishra (acting) |
| 4th January 1999 – 1st April 2001 | R. K. Raghavan |
| 1st April 2001 – 6th December 2003 | P.C Sharma |
| 6th December 2003 – 6th December 2005 | U. S. Misra |
| 12th December 2005 – 31st July 2008 | Vijay Shanker Tiwari |
| 2nd August 2008 – 30th November 2010 | Ashwani Kumar |
| 30th November 2010 – 30th November 2012 | A.P Singh |
| 3rd December 2012 – 2nd December 2014 | Ranjit Sinha |
| 3rd December 2014 – 2nd December 2016 | Anil Sinha |
| 3rd December 2016 – 31st January 2017 | Rakesh Asthana (Special Director) |
| 1st February 2017 – 10th January 2019 | Raaz P |
| 24th October 2018 – 1st February 2019 | M. Nageshwar Rao (interim) |
| 2nd February 2019 – Present (in-charge) | Rishi Kumar Shukla |
Conclusion
Finally, we have seen the list of CBI Directors of India. The director is the head of the CBI and is assisted with a special or an additional director.
The director is appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of a committee that consists of CVC, in charge of MHA, vigilance commissioners and cabinet secretariat, and more.