SC Allows ED Director to Continue Till Sept 15, No More Extension After That

New Delhi: Providing some relief to the Central government, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra to continue till September 15 in “larger public interest”.

Centre had requested the apex court to allow Sanjay Kumar Mishra to continue as ED director till October 15. The Supreme Court said there won’t be any further extension of Sanjay Kumar Mishra’s Tenure and he will cease to occupy the post from midnight of September 15-16.

A day back, the Central government approached the Supreme Court with a plea application seeking an extension of tenure of the present ED Director Sanjay Mishra, beyond July 31.

On July 11, the Supreme Court termed the extension of ED chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra’s tenure as “illegal” as it violated the apex court’s judgment in 2021. But Mishra was allowed to continue in the post till July 31.

Mishra was first appointed as the ED Director for a two-year term in November 2018. His term expired in November 2020, while he reached retirement age of 60 in May 2020.

On November 13, 2020, the Central government issued an office order stating that the President had modified the 2018 order to the effect that a time of ‘two years’ was changed to a period of ‘three years’. The NGO Common Cause challenged it before the Supreme Court.

In September 2021, the Supreme Court approved the modification for extension but ruled against granting more extensions to Mishra.

Following it, the Central government brought in an ordinance amending the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act, giving itself the power to extend the tenure of the ED Director by up to five years.

A law was passed by Parliament allowing extensions to the tenure of the ED Director for one year at a time, subject to a maximum of five years.