On Thursday, the Supreme Court decided to extend the tenure of Sanjay Kumar Mishra, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief, until September 15. However, the Court clarified there would not be any further extensions.
The Government had requested the Court to extend Mishra’s term until October 15. But the judges, B R Gavai, Vikram Nath, and Sanjay Karol, decided only to extend until September 15. They explained this decision was in the “larger public and national interest”. After September 15, Mishra would not remain the ED chief.
During the hearing, the Court questioned the Government’s request for an extension. They asked if the entire department was “full of incompetent people” except the current chief.
The Court argued with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the Government, asking if there was no one else competent enough for the position in the department.
Mehta countered that it was necessary to maintain the continuity of the ED’s leadership due to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) peer review whose rating matters. He stated that Mishra was “not indispensable”, but his presence was necessary for the entire peer review exercise.
The ED was also represented by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju. He emphasized that some neighboring countries would prefer if India fell into FATF’s ‘grey list’. Therefore, it was essential to retain the ED chief.
This hearing was in response to the Government’s application to extend Mishra’s tenure until October 15. The Court had previously labeled as “illegal” two successive one-year extensions given to Mishra on July 11. They stated that the Government’s orders were in “breach” of the 2021 verdict, which stated that the IRS officer should not be given a further term. Moreover, they had shortened Mishra’s extended tenure to July 31 from November.
