The government has introduced two ordinances that will allow CBI and Enforcement Directorate chiefs to serve for up to five years. The chiefs of the central agencies are currently appointed for two years.
President Ram Nath Kovind has given his approval to both ordinances. After their two-year tenure is completed, top agency leaders can be offered extensions every year for up to three years.
The ordinances provide that “when the parliament is not in session, the President is satisfied that circumstances exist that require him to take prompt action.”
“…no such extension shall be allowed after the completion of a term of five years in total, including the period stated in the first appointment,” the statements add.
A Supreme Court bench led by Justice LN Rao recently handed down a decision in the issue of Enforcement Directorate chief SK Mishra’s tenure extension, stating that tenure extensions “should be done only in rare and exceptional instances.”
The Government of India brings Ordinance to extend the tenure of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Directors up to 5 years. pic.twitter.com/r6NZ8cLyJS
— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2021
Today’s development comes only days before his term ends on November 17, which was extended for another year last year in what some critics called a “extraordinary act.”
The Enforcement Directorate, a “specialist financial investigation agency within the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance,” looks into matters involving money laundering and foreign exchange laws and regulations.
In the past, opposition parties have accused the government of misusing central investigating agencies in connection with investigations into top leaders and former ministers.
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