In a huge setback to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Tuesday termed the third extension of service granted to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra “illegal”, giving him time till July 31 to relinquish office.
A three-judge bench, headed by Justice BR Gavai, held that Mishra could not have been granted the extension beyond November 2022 in view of a previous order of the Supreme Court in 2021.
Home Minister Amit Shah has nevertheless remained unfazed and mocked at those who are rejoicing on Supreme Court order stating that ED powers to deal with corrupt remains.
"......who the ED director is - that is not important because whoever assumes this role will take note of the rampant corruption of a cozy club of entitled dynasts who have an anti-development mindset," Shah tweeted.
"Those rejoicing over the Hon'ble SC decision on the ED case are delusional for various reasons - The amendments to the CVC Act, which were duly passed by the Parliament, have been upheld. Powers of the ED to strike at those who are corrupt and on the wrong side of the law remain the same.
ED is an institution which rises beyond any one individual and is focused on achieving its core objective - i.e. to investigate offences of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws."
The extension of Mishra was challenged by a bundle of petitions, which banked on the September 2021 order of the top court. The petitioners included Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala, Jaya Thakur, and Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra among others.
Mishra was initially appointed as ED director for a two-year tenure ending in November 2020. He was granted a one-year extension, which was challenged in the top court by an NGO, Common Cause. While the court allowed the extension in a September 2021 judgment given his tenure was coming to an end in about two months, it was clear that no further extension was to be granted to Mishra.
The Union government introduced amendments to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act and the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act that allowed the extension of service ED and CBI chiefs for a period of three years beyond their two-year tenure by granting extensions of one-year each, media reports said.
In May this year, the Centre had told the Supreme Court that the 'third extension' of service granted to Enforcement Directorate (ED) director, Sanjay Kumar Mishra, was due to a peer review being conducted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) this year and that tenure will end in November this year.
Mishra is an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the 1984 batch.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre had said, "This officer is not some DGP of any state but an officer representing the country in a United Nation-like body (that is FATF) and is in the midst of something. This court must not interfere with his tenure and from November onwards, he will not be there".
He said Mishra was given an extension as the FATF peer review is taking place in the country and there are some guidelines which need to be followed. FATF is a global anti-money laundering and terrorist ... financing watchdog.
On November 15, 2021, the Centre brought amendments to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act and the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act governing the appointment of heads of ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
This allowed the government to extend the tenure of CBI and ED chiefs for a period of three years beyond their two-year tenure by granting extensions of one-year each.
These amendments were challenged in a clutch of petitions before the Supreme Court, filed by Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala, Jaya Thakur, and Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, among others.
The Solicitor General said in May that, "It is not a case that he (Mishra) is not dispensable".
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