Sanjay Mishra becomes beneficiary of ordinance, to be ED chief for one more year

Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra on Wednesday became the first beneficiary of a controversial ordinance promulgated by the Narendra Modi government that provided for extension of the tenure of the agency's Director.

In what is seen as an expected move after the promulgation of the ordinance, the Modi government extended the tenure of Mishra by one year from Thursday, when he was supposed to hang his boots after serving in the post for three years.

An order issued by the Ministry of Finance's Department of Revenue said the President is "pleased to extend" the tenure of Mishra for a "period of one year beyond 18 November, 2021, i.e., upto 18 November, 2022 or until further orders, whichever is earlier".

DH had on Sunday reported that the ordinance coming days ahead of the end of Mishra's tenure had set the tongues wagging as a section believes that it was meant to overcome the restriction put by the Supreme Court in giving him extension.

"This was why the Ordinance was issued in the first place," Congress Rajya Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh tweeted about the extension.

"It is not difficult to imagine how would the BJP perform and stay relevant without ED, CBI, IT and of course NIA," senior RJD MP Manoj K Jha tweeted.

Mishra was initially appointed for a two year tenure on 19, November 2018 but days before the end of his term in 2020, the government modified its appointment order from two years to three years. This meant that he would step down in November 2021 but with the new order, he has at least one more year.

The two ordinances issued by the government on Sunday had provided for three extensions of one year each for CBI and ED Directors. At present, they have a fixed tenure of two years.

The move to provide for extension was criticised by the Opposition, saying that it was intended to make officers "more pliable".

Senior Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi said on Monday, "these ordinances tell an officer that I will keep you on probation, on a tight leash, will keep you on a master-servant relation. If you have behaved and done 'His Master's Voice', I may consider an extension. If you haven't behaved, then there is nothing."

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