Justice SK Kaul recuses from hearing petitions against extension to ED Director Sanjay Mishra

New Delhi, November 18

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul on Friday recused from hearing petitions challenging the extension of tenure given to Sanjay Kumar Mishra as Director of the Enforcement Directorate.

As the matter came up for hearing, Justice Kaul said, “Let the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate orders. I cannot take up the matter.”

The recusal came a day after the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) extended Mishra’s tenure as ED Director till November 18, 2023.

Mishra (62) is a 1984-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the Income Tax Department cadre. He was appointed Director of the ED for a period of two years on November 19, 2018. Subsequently, on November 13, 2020, the appointment letter was modified retrospectively by an order and his term of two years was replaced by three years.

In November 2021, the Centre promulgated an ordinance that said the tenure of directors of the ED and the CBI can be extended by up to three years after the mandated tenure of two years. The Centre had on November 17, 2021, extended the tenure of Mishra by a year till November 18, 2022, days after the Centre brought ordinances to allow ED and CBI directors to occupy the office up to five years.

The ordinance and the 2021 extension given to him were already under challenge before the top court.

The Supreme Court had on August 2 issued notice to the Centre on petitions challenging a law allowing extension of tenure to the Director of the ED up to five years, and the Centre’s decision to grant one-year extension to Mishra as its Director.

There were eight petitions challenging the extension given to Mishra, including those filed by Congress leaders Jaya Thakur and Randeep Singh Surjewala; TMC leaders Saket Gokhale and Mahua Moitra; and Krishna Chander Singh, Vineet Narain and Manoharlal Sharma.

The petitioners contended that the extension given to Mishra as the ED Director was invalid under Section 25 of the Central Vigilance Commission Act and went against the Supreme Court’s September 2021 verdict on the issue.

While upholding the extension given to Mishra and the Centre’s power to grant extension of tenure, the top court had on September 8 last year said extension of tenure to officers after the age of superannuation should be done only in rare and exceptional cases.

A 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, it had said, adding that such an extension of tenure of Director should be for a short period.