NEW DELHI: In a big setback to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Tuesday termed the third extension of tenure granted to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra as 'illegal' but allowed him to continue on the post till July 31, 2023. A bench of Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol said in view of the peer review being conducted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) this year and to enable a smooth transition, Mishra can serve on the post till July 31.
The top court also directed the Centre to look for a new chief for the central probe agency, adding that "Mishra's extended term violates the mandate of a judgment in 2021.'' The bench gave the verdict on a batch of petitions, including those filed by Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Thakur, and TMC's Mahua Moitra and Saket Gokhale.
Who Is Sanjay Kumar Mishra?
Sanjay Kumar Mishra is a 1984-batch IRS officer. If the SC order had not come, the 62-year-old IRS officer would have otherwise remained in office till November 18, 2023, according to the notification issued by the government earlier. Mishra is believed to be an expert in financial matters. Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, he is said to have personally supervised probes in several high-profile cases. He has become a point person in the Narendra Modi government’s fight against corruption. It is for this reason that Mishra was appointed as the chief of ED on November 19, 2018, for a period of two years. Prior to his appointment, Mishra was posted as chief commissioner of Income Tax in Delhi.
During Sanjay Kumar Mishra’s tenure, the ED has earned the sobriquet of “the new CBI” for the swiftness it has shown in probing financial fraud and money laundering cases involving big political figures in the country, angering the Opposition parties for the agency’s actions. It’s also said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attacked assets worth Rs 65000 crores in just four years alone under the supervision of Sanjay Kumar Mishra.
The federal financial probe agency is believed to have conducted more than 2,000 raids under his supervision.
Past Extensions
SK Mishra joined as ED chief on November 19, 2018, for two year fixed tenure. Later, by an order dated November 13, 2020, the central government modified the appointment letter retrospectively and his two-year term was changed to three years. The government promulgated an ordinance last year under which the tenure of the ED and CBI chiefs could be extended by up to three years after the mandated term of two years.
Petitions Challenging His Extensions?
In the wake of the Centre bringing an ordinance, a batch of petitions were filed before the Supreme Court by several opposition parties challenging the amendments. In response to this, the government told the Supreme Court that it had extended Mishra's tenure in public interest as various cases were at a crucial juncture and required proper and expeditious disposal for which it was necessary to ensure the continuity of officers.
Again in February this year, the Centre defended its decision to extend the tenure of the director of the Enforcement Directorate and urged the top court to dismiss the plea challenging the decision saying that the petition is motivated. The Centre told the Supreme Court that the petition challenging the decision to extend the ED director’s tenure lacked merit and asked the apex court to dismiss the petition. The Centre also informed the top court that the petition was “clearly motivated by an oblique personal interest rather than any public interest litigation,” the report added.
It argued that restricting the tenure of the director of ED or CBI would be counterproductive to the country’s efforts to fight against corruption and money laundering. A newly appointed person may take time to acclimatise to the working of the new organisation, the government said.
Opposition parties have expressed disappointment over the extension given to Mishra accusing the government of misusing the federal agencies and harassing the political leaders and civil society members.
High Profile Cases
The Enforcement Directorate, which is the Centre’s apex agency that enforces the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and probed matters related to money launder and other big-ticket financial fraud cases. Under Sanjay Mishra’s supervision, the central investigative agency has launched a probe against several high-profile people and politicians such as Congress' Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's husband Robert Vadra.
ED is also probing cases against Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah.
Besides, the agency is also facilitating the extradition of fugitives such as Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. Money laundering accused such as former Yes Bank managing director and chief executive officer Rana Kapoor and ICICI Bank former MD-CEO Chanda Kochhar’s husband Deepak Kochhar have also fallen under the ED scanner under Mishra’s leadership.
At present, the central probe agency is probing the National Herald case against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the sand mining case involving former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi's nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey. West Bengal the SSC recruitment scam against former Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee and aide Arpita Mukherjee and Delhi Excise policy case involving ex-Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia.
