ED and Supreme Court
Incumbent director of Enforcement Directorate (ED) Sanjay Kumar Mishra should be allowed to stay in office till October 15 so that the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) review of India’s money-laundering probe operations goes smoothly, the Central government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Towards this end, a plea was filed by the government before the apex court for modification of the Court’s July 11 verdict which set a deadline of July 31 for appointment of new ED director.
FATF is an inter-governmental body which has developed its recommendations to prevent and combat money laundering and terror financing and about 200 countries/ jurisdictions including India have committed to implement these standards, the government said in its plea.
Hence, extension of tenure if Mishra is needed in national interest, the plea filed through Mukesh Kumar Maroria said.
“Any transition in leadership in the at the Directorate of Enforcement at this stage, would significantly impair the ability of the agency to provide necessary assistance to and cooperation with the (FATF) assessment team and thereby adverse impact India’s national interests … his (Mishra’s) continuation in this arduous and delicate process is essential,” it was stressed.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol had, on July 11 this year, struck down the earlier extension granted to Mishra on the ground that the same was in violation of the Supreme Court’s 2021 judgment.
In the 2021 judgment, the top court had directed that Mishra cannot be given any extension beyond November 2021.
Mishra was first appointed ED Director for a two-year term in November 2018. This term expired in November 2020. In May 2020, he had reached the retirement age of 60.
However, 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.’ This was challenged before the Supreme Court by the NGO Common Cause.
The Supreme Court in a September 2021 verdict approved the modification, but ruled against granting more extensions to Mishra.
After the Court’s decision in 2021, 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.
The parliament later passed a law in this regard allowing extensions to the tenure of the ED Director for one year at a time, subject to a maximum of 5 years.
This came to be challenged before the apex court which on July 11, ruled against any further extension and said that Mishra should demit office by July 31.
In its application filed on Wednesday, the Union government has described at length the nature of the FATF review process that will conclude in November this year.
It has argued that Mishra being at the helm of affairs during this time is essential to aid the FATF team scheduled to visit the country effectively and ensure all compliances.
The matter was mentioned by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta before a Justice BR Gavai-led bench, seeking urgent listing.
The Court acceded to the request and agreed to hear the plea on Thursday at 3.30 pm.
