Sanjay Kumar Mishra's tenure as director of the Enforcement Directorate was extended by 46 days until September 15 in the "larger public interest" despite the fact that the Supreme Court had previously ruled on July 11 that the previous two one-year extensions given to him were unlawful and designated July 31 as the day of his departure from ED. The government sought the extension to help in seamless peer review by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.
The bench of Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, and Sanjay Karol stated that they were inclined to allow Mishra to continue as director for an additional period of time until September 15 in the interest of the greater good, explaining that under normal circumstances, such an application from the government would not have been entertained. We direct that Mishra would cease to be the director of ED on September 15-16 midnight and no more applications for his extension under any circumstances would be entertained in future.”
During last week’s hearing, Justice Gavai said, “(By making this application) is the government not giving an indication that ED is full of incompetent persons who can’t succeed Mishra? It is as if that person is not there, the entire department is not going to function. Does it show the department in a good light? Will it not demoralise the entire workforce in the department? Does it not indicate that there is not a single competent person who can succeed Mishra?
“Suppose I am the CJI and something untoward happens to me. Will the Supreme Court or the country’s judicial system collapse in my absence?”
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said it was not about the indispensability of one person. “The issue here is leadership. No one is indispensable, but the country will benefit with continuity and present a correct picture of action taken against offences of money laundering and terror funding. Maintaining a good FATF rating, which India enjoys, will project a positive image of the country’s financial capabilities and rigorous framework against financial offenders.”