Petitioners ask SC to end ED chief SK Mishra's tenure

ED chief SK Mishra's tenure should be terminated immediately, petitioners challenging extensions given to him argued in the Supreme Court on Thursday. They urged the court to also strike down 'illegal' amendment to the Central Vigilance Commission Act which enabled the Centre to extend the ED director's tenure by up to five years.

The petitioners alleged ED had become the 'new caged parrot' and that the Centre was adopting a carrot-and-stick policy to grant extensions to the ED director, which would adversely affect investigations. Appearing on behalf of one of the petitioners, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan said CVC Act amendment bestowed the Centre with power to grant extension to the ED director if he was a 'good boy'. "Investigations cannot be independent" if the government is allowed such piecemeal control over tenure of the director of the federal agency. Sankaranarayanan argued that there were "other officers in the fray," 'neglected' by two extensions Mishra got.

He said the role of ED was substantive and wide. Sankaranarayanan urged the court to bring Mishra's tenure to an end. "The man has had his run. The illegality (extensions) needs to be brought down," he argued. SC had specifically issued a mandamus that Mishra could not have been granted further extension in office beyond November 2021, and the government could not legitimately introduce an amendment which had retrospective effect, he contended. "ED is like the CBI. While the CBI has to take prior consent (for investigations), ED jumps into anything, anywhere. ED is the new caged parrot," he contended.


Amicus curiae KV Viswanathan too contended extensions given to Mishra were illegal. He said, "it was important to ensure that the office was insulated from government influence."