NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has set a deadline of July 31 for the tenure of Enforcement Directorate director Sanjay Mishra. The court ruled that the third extension granted to Mishra, a 1984 batch IRS officer, was illegal as it went against its directions. Mishra’s present extended term was supposed to end in November 2023. The court stated that Mishra’s tenure would be until July 31 to enable a smooth transition and in view of the peer review being conducted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) this year.
The Centre had justified the extensions granted to Mishra by stating that his continuance was necessary as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and steps taken by India would be reviewed by the international watchdog, FATF.
The top court had questioned the extensions given to Mishra during the hearing and asked the Centre whether he was “indispensable” and if there were no other competent officers in the investigation agency.
Mishra was first appointed as the ED director for a term of two years in November 2018. His term was later extended to three years through a retrospective order by the central government in November 2020. In 2022, the government promulgated an ordinance allowing the tenure of the ED and CBI chiefs to be extended by up to three years after the initial two-year term.
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the amendment in the CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) Act and DSPE (Delhi Special Police Establishment) Act to grant five years’ tenure to the ED and CBI chiefs. The court stated that the amendments were not arbitrary and that the legislature had the authority to change the law for extending the tenure of the chiefs.
The court dismissed concerns that the extension of tenure would compromise the independence of the agencies and mentioned that there are sufficient safeguards in place to prevent any misuse. The verdict was given on a batch of petitions filed by Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Jaya Thakur, as well as TMC’s Mahua Moitra and Saket Gokhale.
Summary:
- The Supreme Court has set July 31 as the deadline for the tenure of ED director Sanjay Mishra.
- The court ruled that the third extension granted to Mishra was illegal.
- Mishra’s tenure will be until July 31 to enable a smooth transition and in view of the FATF peer review.
- The Centre justified the extensions by stating that Mishra’s continuance was necessary for the review by FATF.
- The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the amendment allowing extended tenures for ED and CBI chiefs.
- The court dismissed concerns about compromising the independence of the agencies and mentioned safeguards in place.
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