Centre Brings Ordinances To Extend Tenure Of ED, CBI Directors Up To 5 Years

The Supreme Court had in September refused to interfere with the extension of service granted to Enforcement Director SK Mishra.

Representative Photo: PTI

New Delhi: The Union government on Sunday brought ordinances to extend the tenure of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Directors up to 5 years.

The heads of the central agencies currently serve in their respective posts for two years. President Ram Nath Kovind has signed off both ordinances. 

This comes just three days ahead of the retirement of incumbent Enforcement Directorate Chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra, a 1984-batch IRS officer. In 2020, the Union government had given him an extension of one year after the completion of his two years fixed term.

Informing about the ordinance, a notification by the Ministry Of Law and Justice reads: “Whereas Parliament is not in session and the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action. Now, Therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of article 123 of the Constitution, the President is pleased to promulgate the following Ordinance: (1) This Ordinance may be called the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021. (2) It shall come into force at once”.

For Amendment of section 4, it states: “In section 4B of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, in sub-section (1), the following provisos shall be inserted, namely, “Provided that the period for which the Director holds the office on his initial appointment may, in public interest, on the recommendation of the Committee under sub-section (1) of section 4A and for the reasons to be recorded in writing, be extended up to one year at a time: Provided further that no such extension shall be granted after the completion of a period of five years in total including the period mentioned in the initial appointment”.”

A similar notification has been issued for the amendment of the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003. This Ordinance is called Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021.

The Government of India brings Ordinance to extend the tenure of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Directors up to 5 years. pic.twitter.com/r6NZ8cLyJS

— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2021

With the promulgation of the ordinance it remains to be seen whether Mishra would continue as the ED chief or not, officials said, as reported by news agency PTI.

The Supreme Court had in September refused to interfere with the extension of service granted to Enforcement Director SK Mishra. It stated that the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003, which deals with the appointment to the post, only mentions that such officers shall hold office for not less than two years and that cannot be understood to mean not more than two years.

As per a report by the Indian Express, the bench stated it did not intend to interfere with the extension of tenure of Mishra “for the reason that his tenure is coming to an end in November, 2021” but further clarified that “no further extension shall be granted to” him beyond that date. “We should make it clear that extension of tenure granted to officers who have attained the age of superannuation should be done only in rare and exceptional cases,” it mentioned. 

“Reasonable period of extension can be granted to facilitate the completion of ongoing investigations only after reasons are recorded by the Committee constituted under Section 25 (a) of the CVC Act. Any extension of tenure granted to persons holding the post of Director of Enforcement after attaining the age of superannuation should be for a short period,” the report quoted the apex court as stating.

The ED Director is appointed by the Union government on the recommendation of a committee chaired by the Central Vigilance Commissioner and members comprising of Vigilance Commissioners, Home Secretary, Secretary DOPT, and Revenue Secretary.

The CBI Director is selected on the basis of the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Chief of Justice of India, and the Leader of Opposition.

The fixed term of two years was aimed at ensuring the heads of CBI and ED work free from government interference without worrying about any adverse action for the probes carried out by them.

(With Agency Inputs)