NEW DELHI, July 26: The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on Thursday an urgent application moved by the Centre to allow Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra to continue in office till October 15.
A Supreme Court judgment on July 11 had directed him to quit office by July 31. The top court had concluded that Mr. Mishra’s continuance at the helm of the ED on his third consecutive extension, till November 2023, was illegal.
The court had given the government time till July 31 to find a replacement for Mishra. The leeway was given by the court taking into consideration the government’s submission that Mishra’s presence was necessary for the ongoing evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
On Wednesday, appearing before a Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, sought an urgent listing of its application seeking the extension of Mishra’s tenure from July 31 to mid-October, 2023.
The 12-page application filed on Wednesday said the “Union of India is compelled to approach the Supreme Court seeking extension of the tenure of Mishra up to October 15, 2023 in view of the ongoing FATF review which is at a critical stage.” It said the submissions on effectiveness of the anti-money laundering regime in India were made on July 21 and an on-site visit by an FATF assessment team was scheduled in November.
“At such a critical juncture, it is essential to have an individual who is well-acquainted with the overall status of money laundering investigations and proceedings across the country and also of the intricacies of the procedures, operations and activities of the investigating agency, at the helm of affairs at the ED,” the Centre’s application submitted.
It said Mishra’s continuation would be pivotal to ably assist the assessment team with “necessary reports, information, statistics, etc”. “Any transition in leadership at the ED at this stage would significantly impair the ability of the agency to provide necessary assistance to and cooperation with the assessment team and thereby adversely impact India’s national interests,” the Centre urged.
The Centre had earlier argued that the ED Director was not a promotional post, so nobody was losing a career opportunity due to the extension of Mr. Mishra’s tenure.
(Manas Dasgupta)