Supreme Court Rejects Plea Against Change In Probe Agency Chief's Tenure

A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao, however, made it clear that extension of tenure of officers who have attained age of superannuation should be done in rare and exceptional cases.

Dismissing a plea challenging the retrospective change in the 2018 appointment order of Sanjay Kumar Mishra as director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Supreme Court today ruled that the concerned officer's tenure should not be further extended. A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao, however, made it clear that extension of tenure of officers who have attained age of superannuation should be done in rare and exceptional cases. "We have upheld the power of Union government to extend the tenure of the ED Director. Extension of tenure should be done only in rare and exceptional circumstances. Any extension of tenure should be for a short period," ruled the Supreme Court. The judgment came on a plea filed by NGO Common Cause challenging retrospective change in the 2018 appointment order of Sanjay Mishra as director of the ED, the central agency which investigates financial crimes.