[Rahul Gandhi interrogation] Mahila Congress member moves Supreme Court challenging ED Director's tenure extension

A member of the Mahila Congress has filed a plea before the Supreme Court challenging the extension of tenure granted to the Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Sanjay Kumar Mishra [Dr Jaya Thakur vs Union of India and anr]..The plea has been filed in the backdrop of interrogation of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case.The petition contended that the probe into the same has been going on for ten years even in the absence of a first information report."The above acts are against the democratic features. In the whole world there are no agencies to (sic) search upto 10 years," the petition stated.The petitioner, Dr Jaya Thakur, submitted that the extension of ED Director's tenure was in violation of the apex court's 2021 decision in Common Cause vs Union of India and ors, wherein the top court had explicitly ruled against further extensions to Mishra.Mishra's first retirement was due in November 2020, but it was extended twice subsequently. The tenure was last extended in November 2021 by an Act of Parliament [Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Act], a month after an ordinance was issued. The plea said that the Central government, by granting such extensions, is destroying the basic structure of the Constitution by using central agencies against political opponents. The petition alleged that the Central government was "using the Enforcement Agencies against the Indian National Congress Party's president and their office bearer" to damage their image and reputations. The petitioner, therefore, sought quashing of the extension orders granted to the incumbent ED Director as well the 2021 Act paving way for the same. .The petition has been drafted by advocate Varun Thakur and filed by advocate Varinder Kumar Sharma. .The Supreme Court had in September 2021, upheld the decision of the Central government to make retrospective changes to the appointment order of Sanjay Kumar Mishra, by which his tenure had been increased from two years to three years.The Bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and BR Gavai had held that the Central government has powers to make retrospective changes but it should be done in the rarest of rare cases.Importantly, in that judgment the top court had clarified that any extension of tenure granted to persons holding the post of Director of Enforcement after attaining the age of superannuation should be for a short period.It should be done only in rare and exceptional cases and a reasonable period of extension can be granted to facilitate the completion of ongoing investigations only after reasons are recorded by the Committee constituted under Section 25 (a) of the CVC Act, the Supreme Court had underscored.Subsequently, the President of India has promulgated ordinances enabling the extension of tenure of Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) upto 5 years.A petition filed by the national spokesperson of the All India Trinamool Congress, Saket Gokhale, challenging the extension of tenure granted to ED Director is already pending before the top court. .Follow our coverage of the National Herald case here and here.