The Supreme Court on Tuesday held the third extension of Enforcement Director (ED) Director Sanjay Mishra (IRS-IT:1994) as illegal and set July 31 deadline to demit the ED office. 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, SK Mishra’s tenure will be till July 31.
Otherwise, he was to remain in office till November 18, 2023, according to the notification issued by the government when he was given a third extension.
The Supreme Court, however, upheld the amendments to the DSPE and CVC Acts, granting the Centre the power to extend CBI chief and ED director terms by up to three years beyond their mandatory two-year terms.
On May 8, the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on a set of petitions that challenged the third extension of service granted to the chief of the Enforcement Directorate. The Centre defended the extension, citing the ongoing peer review conducted by the FATF as grounds for its decision.
