NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court judge Justice SK Kaul on Friday recused from considering pleas challenging the term extension of the ED Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra by one more year. The order was challenged on Nov 17, 2021. When the matter was taken up for hearing, Justice SK Kaul, the presiding judge of the bench, recused from considering the plea.
The bench in their order said, “List it before a bench of which one of the judges (SK Kaul) isn’t part of.” Against the backdrop of the center further extending Mishra’s tenure till November 18, 2023, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan urged the bench to direct for listing the petitions urgently before another bench.
The batch of petitions had also challenged the Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Act 2021 (“impugned act”) which allows term extension of the Director of the Enforcement of Directorate up to five years.