NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday fixed a hearing on March 21 on the petitions challenging the tenure extension of the Enforcement Director up to five years by amending the law.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Aravind Kumar deferred the matter, noting that it needs a detailed hearing.
๐ฃ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐: ๐ฆ๐
As the hearing commenced, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that an affidavit has been filed by the Centre, stating that the petitions have been filed by the interest parties, by such leaders against whom the ED cases are pending for money laundering.
"All political people facing serious money laundering cases have come before this court," he submitted.
To this, the top court remarked: "We are not concerned with that."
๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐บ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐: ๐๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฒ
Senior advocate KV Vishwanathan, who has been appointed as a amicus curiae (court's friend) in the case, said extensions may only be granted in exceptional cases.
In a significant development in the petitions challenging the third extension given to ED Director SK Mishra, the amicus curiae in the matter, senior advocate K V Viswanathan told the court that the extensions were illegal.
๐๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐น
Not only the extensions but also the 2021 amendment to the Central Vigilance Commission Act 2003 enabling the tenure extension of the ED up to five years is illegal, opined the amicus.
"The extension order and the statutory amendments, keeping in mind the long line of judgments from Vineet Narain, Prakash Singh 1 and Prakash Singh II, Common Cause I and 2 are illegal. Not only the extensions, but also the amendments," Viswanathan told the Bench.
๐ฆ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ'๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ
The top court had on December 12 sought the response from the Centre and others to a plea challenging the third extension granted to Envorcement Directorate chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra. One of the petitions is Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jaya Thakur.
She accused the Centre of destroying the "basic structure" of democracy by misusing the enforcement agencies against its political opponents.
The petitioner referred to a specific order passed by the Supreme Court that no further extension be granted to Mishra, but the Centre gave him the second extension from November 17, 2021 to November 17, 2022 and during the pendency of her writ petition, Mishra was again given third extension from November 18, 2022 to November 18, 2023, showing no respect towards the rule of law.
On November 18, Justice S K Kaul had recused himself from hearing the pleas challenging the law amended to all extension of up to five years to the ED director, a day after mishra was given a fresh one-year extension as the chief of the anti-money laundering agency.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐, ๐ง๐ ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐น๐ฎ๐
Mishra, 62, was first appointed the director of the ED for two years on November 19,2018 and later his term was changed to three years. The government promoted an ordinance last year to extend the tenure of ED and CBI chiefs by up to three years after the mandated term of two eyars.
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala challenged the amendment made by the Centre in contradiction of two Apex Court judgments in the Vineet Narayan and the Common Cause cases on fixed tenure of such officials. Other petitioners are Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra and Saket Gokhale.
