In “Larger Public Interest,” Supreme Court Extends ED Director SK Mishra’s Term To September 15

Sanjay Kumar Mishra’s tenure as director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was extended by the Supreme Court on Thursday from the earlier deadline of July 31 to September 15.

The extension was granted in the “larger public and national interest,” according to a bench of Justices B R Gavai, Vikram Nath, and Sanjay Karol, but Mishra will no longer be in charge of the ED as of September 15 at midnight.

In light of the current Financial Action Task Force review, the Centre had on Wednesday filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking for an extension of S K Mishra’s term as ED director until October 15.

Taking into account larger public interest, Supreme Court allows SK Mishra to continue as ED Director till September 15. Makes it clear he shall cease to be ED Director with effect from midnight of 15-16 September. @IndianExpress

— Ananthakrishnan G (@axidentaljourno) July 27, 2023

The Centre claimed in its application that it “is compelled to approach” the court “seeking extension of the date up to 15.10.2023…in view of the ongoing FATF review, which is at a critical stage where submissions on effectiveness have been made on 21.07.2023 and on-site visit is scheduled to be conducted in November 2023.”

The top court asked the Centre why it was asking for an extension and if the department was “full of incompetent people” besides the current chief.

The bench questioned Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was representing the Centre, saying, “Are we not portraying an image that there is no other person and the entire department is full of inept people?

The Supreme Court ruled on July 11 that Mishra’s two tenure extensions, granted by the government, were “not valid in law” and that he could only hold the position until July 31.

A day before Mishra was scheduled to retire, the Centre extended his contract by another year in November of last year. Mishra’s term as ED chief was being extended for a third time, keeping him in office till November 18, 2023, for a total of five years.

On November 19, 2018, Mishra was first hired as the ED Director for a fixed term of two years. The President updated the prior decree retroactively on November 13, 2020, extending Mishra’s term by three years just days before it was set to expire.