The Supreme Court today agreed to hear on Friday a plea challenging the appointment of Gujarat cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as the interim Director of the CBI. The petition, filed by an NGO, claimed that the government did not convene a meeting of the selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the leader of the largest opposition party and the Chief Justice of India, even though it was fully aware that Anil Sinha was going to demit the office of CBI director on December 2.<br/><br/>Asthana, an IPS officer of 1984-batch, was elevated as the Additional Director in the agency on 2nd of this month, when CBI Special Director R K Dutta, who was reportedly among the frontrunners for the top post, was shifted to the Ministry of Home Affairs as a Special Secretary.