The Supreme Court has declared two orders issued by the Indian Government in November 2021 and 2022, granting extensions to SK Mishra’s tenure as the head of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), as illegal. A three-member bench led by Justice BR Gavai deemed the extensions as not valid in law. However, in light of concerns raised by the Centre over India’s peer review by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Mishra has been permitted to continue until July 31.

The FATF is an intergovernmental organization that works to combat money laundering.

The Supreme Court’s judgment comes after petitions were filed challenging the extensions granted to Mishra. Mishra was initially appointed as the ED director in November 2018 for a two-year term, which was later retrospectively changed to three years in November 2020. Further one-year extensions were granted in 2021 and 2022, with his term originally set to end on November 18 this year.

It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court upheld the amendments made to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act and the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act by the Centre, extending the tenures of directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED to five years.

Regarding the extensions granted to Mishra, the court ruled that a mandamus issued by the Supreme Court on September 8, 2021, which directed the Centre to not grant any further extensions to Mishra, was binding. The court found little substance in the Centre’s argument that the foundation of the judgment was rendered void by changes made to the CVC Act. While Parliament has the power to nullify a court’s judgment through legislation, even retrospectively, in this case, it could not have been violated because the Supreme Court had issued a specific mandamus against Mishra.

The Congress party viewed the Supreme Court’s order as an indictment of the Modi government. AICC general secretary Randeep Surjewala, who was a petitioner in the case, tweeted that it was a victory of justice and a vindication of their stand on the misuse and compromise of the ED for political vendetta. The Congress accused the Modi government of pursuing a desperate and obvious agenda.

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