NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought response from the Centre and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) in 10 days on a batch of petitions challenging the extension given to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) director.
The amended law allowing such extensions up to five years was also challenged. A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli issued notices to the Centre, CVC and the present ED Director, based on as many as eight petitions, including the ones filed by Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Jaya Thakur and TMC’s Saket Gokhale.
Lawyer M L Sharma claimed to have filed the first petition on the issue. “Issue notice to the central law agency. List after 10 days,” the bench said. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Surjewala, referred to the apex court judgments and said the fixed tenures are the ‘hallmark of independence’ and the fact that an incumbent may get an extension will ‘demolish’ the independence of the office.
Surjewala’s plea has challenged the amendment made by the central government to the fundamental concept decided by the apex court in two judgments in the Vineet Narayan and the Common Cause cases which were on fixed tenure.
“...this amendment basically puts the incumbent on a fiduciary kind of pattern where one year, two year and three year extension at the discretion of the executive can be achieved. The amendments provide that you can get extensions piecemeal,” he said. The fact that an officer can get the extension in itself demolishes the independence, he said.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan, appearing for one the petitioners, said the present ED Director would be completing four years in the post this year, and an ordinance was promulgated a few days before his retirement on November 18 last year extending his tenure by a year more.
8 petitions in court
A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli issued notices to the Centre, CVC and the present ED Director, based on as many as eight petitions, including the ones filed by Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Jaya Thakur