The extension of Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief is invalid, said the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The court mentioned that Chief Sanjay Mishra can head ED till July 31.
Supreme Court, however, affirmed the amendments in the DSPE and CVC Act, giving the Centre the power to extend the tenure of a CBI chief and ED director by a possible three years beyond their mandatory two-year term.
Mishra got an extension of one year last in November 2022. His tenure as ED Director was to expire in November this year.
Questioning the Centre’s decision to grant a third extension to Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra, the Supreme Court in May this year asked the government if there is no competent person in the entire agency.
The apex court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, “Is there no competent person in the entire agency and can one person be so indispensable?”
The bench, also comprising justices Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol, queried Mehta, “What will happen to the agency post-2023 when he does retire?”
Who is Sanjay Mishra
Sanjay Mishra, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, is in his fifth year as the ED director, the maximum on a post for any bureaucrat as even the maximum term that any cabinet secretary has had so far is four years. He got a third extension last year.
Mishra was appointed the ED chief in 2018, an order last November order says he will continue in his chair till November 18, 2023.
Government had last year brought in an ordinance to enable itself to give a five-year term to the ED and CBI chiefs, up from two years.
Centre’s Explanation on The Extension
The government argued before the Supreme Court, where the move was challenged, that the tenure of the ED chief had been earlier extended “in public interest” as various cases being probed by the agency were at a crucial juncture and continuity of officers means proper and expeditious disposal of cases.
The ordinances were later passed as bills in Parliament last December, where the DoPT minister argued that “…if in the middle of an important case if you change the head of the agency, others may not be able to carry it forward in same tone” to justify the five-year-long tenures
The government had termed the move in the interest of national security and the stability of the financial structure. The ED director “has a very crucial role in money laundering cases, and is possibly the only agency of its kind available in India”, the government told Parliament.
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