The Centre on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court urging the court to allow an extension to the term of SK Mishra as the chief of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED). Mishra’s term is due to end on July 31 as per the top court’s July 11 order that held the extensions granted to him by the central government as “illegal”.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, and Sanjay Karol held the extensions as violative of the Supreme Court’s 2021 verdict in the Common Cause case which barred the Centre from granting Mishra any further extensions on the post.
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In its July 11 order, the top court, however, allowed Mishra to continue on the post till July 31, 2023, after the Centre’s concerns regarding peer review of international body FATF and smooth transfer of power.
On Wednesday, the top court agreed to list the matter for hearing on Thursday at 3.30 PM. This came after Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, urged a bench headed by Justice Gavai today to hear an application filed with respect to its judgment before Friday.
“I am circulating one miscellaneous application. There is some prayer we are making which will have to persuade Your Lordships on this side of…before Friday,” Live Law quoted SG Mehta as saying.
The extensions granted to Mishra by the Centre have triggered a prolonged political controversy, with the Opposition parties often accusing the Centre of misusing the central agency to settle political scores.
On November 18 last year, the Centre granted Mishra another one-year extension to continue as the ED Director. This was the third extension granted to Mishra who first took charge at the post on November 19, 2018 for a two-year term.
In November 2020, the government revised the appointment order retrospectively to increase Mishra’s tenure from two to three years. The matter reached the Supreme Court, which observed that extensions could only be granted in ‘rare and exceptional cases’ for a short period of time. The top court, however, allowed the extension with a warning that no further extension would be granted to the ED chief.
However, in November 2021, the Centre brought in two ordinances, eventually ratified by the President of India, which allowed the Centre to extend the tenure of the CBI and ED Directors by one year at a time till the completion of five years from the initial appointment. The ordinances, which were converted into Bills that were passed by the Parliament in December, amended the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 and the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003.
Following the ordinance, Mishra was granted another one-year extension which was challenged before the Supreme Court. The petitioners included Congress leaders Jaya Thakur, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, and party spokesperson Saket Gokhale.
In April this year, the apex court upheld the validity of the amendments to the said Acts but invalidated the term extension given to ED chief SK Mishra.