NEW DELHI: Just a week ahead of Parliament’s winter session, the Centre on Sunday promulgated two ordinances to extend the terms of the chiefs of the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to up to five years in “national interest”.
The twin ordinances amend the Central Vigilance Commission Act and the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, which govern the ED and the CBI, respectively. They pave the way for extension of the terms of the chiefs beyond the mandatory two years by another possible three years, through three extensions of a year each.
The amendment to the CVC Act overrides a recent Supreme Court order where the apex court had held that the government could not prolong the tenure of the current ED chief SK Mishra beyond November 18 when his extended tenure runs out. With the changed law, the government can, if it so desires, extend Mishra’s tenure for another two years, through two extensions of a year each.
As per the ordinances, any extension for chiefs of the agencies beyond two years will have to be recommended by a committee which ought to record in writing the reasons explaining why prolonging the tenure would be in “national interest”.
A 1984-batch IRS officer, Mishra was first appointed as the director of ED on November 18, 2018 as principal special director and was promoted as additional secretary: the rank assigned until then to the ED director. Mishra was subsequently promoted to secretary and, accordingly, the post of ED director also got elevated to the same rung.
Mishra, the first IRS officer chosen to head the anti-money laundering agency after LK Singhvi who held the charge in 1992, is seen as one of the most powerful government functionaries. The profile of ED, which had so far remained under the shadow of the CBI, has risen considerably under him.
The CBI is not going to be impacted by the ordinance immediately as its chief, Subodh Jaiswal, a 1985-batch officer, is in the first year of his two-year tenure.
NEW DELHI: Just a week ahead of Parliament’s winter session, the Centre on Sunday promulgated two ordinances to extend the terms of the chiefs of the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to up to five years in “national interest”. The twin ordinances amend the Central Vigilance Commission Act and the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, which govern the ED and the CBI, respectively. They pave the way for extension of the terms of the chiefs beyond the mandatory two years by another possible three years, through three extensions of a year each. The amendment to the CVC Act overrides a recent Supreme Court order where the apex court had held that the government could not prolong the tenure of the current ED chief SK Mishra beyond November 18 when his extended tenure runs out. With the changed law, the government can, if it so desires, extend Mishra’s tenure for another two years, through two extensions of a year each. As per the ordinances, any extension for chiefs of the agencies beyond two years will have to be recommended by a committee which ought to record in writing the reasons explaining why prolonging the tenure would be in “national interest”. A 1984-batch IRS officer, Mishra was first appointed as the director of ED on November 18, 2018 as principal special director and was promoted as additional secretary: the rank assigned until then to the ED director. Mishra was subsequently promoted to secretary and, accordingly, the post of ED director also got elevated to the same rung. Mishra, the first IRS officer chosen to head the anti-money laundering agency after LK Singhvi who held the charge in 1992, is seen as one of the most powerful government functionaries. The profile of ED, which had so far remained under the shadow of the CBI, has risen considerably under him. The CBI is not going to be impacted by the ordinance immediately as its chief, Subodh Jaiswal, a 1985-batch officer, is in the first year of his two-year tenure.