Extensions given to ED chief after 2021 are illegal, rules Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the two extensions given to incumbent Enforcement Directorate chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra after November 2021 were illegal, Live Law reported.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol said that those extensions were in violation of the Supreme Court’s 2021 judgement in which it had directed the government not to extend Mishra’s tenure any further.

Centre could not have issued orders dated 17.11.2021 and 17.11.2022 (extending tenure of SK Mishra, ED Director) in breach of the mandamus issued by this court.
We have held that orders dated 17.11.2021 and 17.11.2022 granting extensions are not valid in law: SC pic.twitter.com/PVStvllev8— Arvind Gunasekar (@arvindgunasekar) July 11, 2023

The court, however, permitted Kumar to continue in his position till July 31. This was after the Centre had expressed concern over finding a new chief in the middle of a peer review being carried out by the Financial Action Task Force, reported NDTV.

The judges were hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the extensions granted to Mishra. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and Congress leader Randeep Surjewala were among the petitioners.

Mishra had first been appointed as the Enforcement Directorate director for a period of two years on November 19, 2018. In 2020, his tenure was extended for a year by the Bharatiya...

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