Extensions given to ED chief 'illegal', declares SC

The Supr eme Cour t decl ar ed the gover nment' s tw in decisions to be "il legal" and r evoked the two one-year extensions handed t o Sanjay Kumar Mishra, the head of the Enforcement Directorate, but permit ted him t o remain in office unt il Jul y 31 in the public int er est t o enabl e a seamless t ransit ion inside the agency

Mishra's extended term was to end in November and the apex court's order has cut it by almost four months

A three-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol held that the two extensions given to Mishra by the government - first in 2021 and then in 2022 - were not "valid in law" as they violated the apex court's September 2021 order directing the government not to extend his tenure further

The Central Vigilance Commission Act and Delhi Special Police Establishment Act amendments, which g a v e t h e g o v e r n m e n t t h e a u t h o r i t y t o e x t e n d t h e minimum tenure of CBI and ED directors beyond two years by up to three one-year extensions each, were affirmed by the Supreme Court

“The impugned orders dated November 17, 2021 and November 17, 2022 granting extensions to the tenure of Mishra for a period of one year each are held to be illegal However, Mishra is permitted to continue to hold office till July 31, 2023," it said

Taking into consideration that the review process by international watchdog FATF (Financial Action Task Force) is underway, one of the reasons cited by the government to justify extensions to the ED chief, and also that appointment of his successor would take some time, the court permitted Mishra to function until July 31 The apex court s order came on petitions, including f r o m C o n g r e s s g e n e r l s e c r e t r y