The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed the Centre’s order of granting third extension to Enforcement Directorate or ED director Sanjay Kumar Mishra and terming the extension order “illegal”. The court also gave Mishra time till July 31 to relinquish office.
The top court, however, affirmed the amendments in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act and the Central Vigilance Commission 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.
The court noted that the scope of judicial review over legislation is very limited, the court upheld these amendments, opining that there are sufficient safeguards. Extension can be granted to high-level officials in the public interest and with reasons in writing, the court said.
A three-judge bench of justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, and Sanjay Karol heard the batch of petitions challenging Mishra’s appointment as well the recent amendment to the Central Vigilance Commission Act. The petitioners included Congress leaders Jaya Thakur, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, and party spokesperson Saket Gokhale. The bench had reserved its judgement in May.
Who is Sanjay Kumar Mishra and what’s the background?
Sanjay Kumar Mishra, an Indian Revenue Service officer of the 1984 batch was initially appointed as ED director for a two-year tenure ending November 2020. Before his tenure came to an end, he was granted a one-year extension which was challenged in the Supreme Court by an NGO, Common Cause. By a judgment in September 2021, the court allowed the extension noticing that the tenure was coming to an end in about two months. However, the judgment was clear that no further extension was to be granted to Mishra.
On November 15, 2021, the Centre brought amendments to the CVC Act and the DSPE Act governing the appointment of heads of ED and CBI that allowed the government to extend the tenure of CBI, 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 Randeep Singh Surjewala, Jaya Thakur, and Mahua Moitra, among others.
Under the challenged amendment, Mishra got an extension from November 2021 to November 2022. Last November, his tenure was further extended by a notification till November 2023.
