While the exile of CBI director Alok Verma may not have ended with the Supreme Court’s Friday order, but it did limit powers of interim CBI boss Nageshwar Rao.

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In its order, the apex court said that the ‘caretaker chief’ will only conduct routine work to keep the CBI function. Rao has been barred from taking any policy decision. 

What’s more interesting is that all decision taken by Rao ‘from Oct ober 23 till date shall not be implemented,’ the top court said. This means that all the 13 officers shunted after Rao took over may have chance to be reinstated. The court is said to review all the decisions once it resumes the hearing in the case after Diwali break on November 12. 

This order also means that Rao cannot take any decision with regard to pending CBI cases, change of the Investigating Officer, or officer in any other probe.

The 1986 batch IPS officer from Odisha cadre, Rao took over the CBI during the intervening night of October 23 and 24 after a DoPT order sent both Alok Verma and Rakesh Asthana to leave. 

"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved that during the period of the subsistence of the aforesaid interim measure, cited in reference above, M Nageshwar Rao, IPS, presently working as Joint Director, CBI, shall look after duties and functions of Director CBI and shall take over the duties and functions with immediate effect," said an order by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, dated October 23, 2013.

Rao hails from Warangal district in Telangana State. He is a chemistry post graduate from Osmania University, Hyderabad. He was appointed as Joint Director in the CBI on April 7, 2016 for a period of 5 years. Before that, he was the Additional Director General of Odisha Police.