Enforcement Director SK Mishra is set to retire on July 31 after the Supreme Court deemed this third tenure extension illegal. The Centre contends that a third extension (till November) was necessitated by an upcoming Financial Action Task Force peer review. Following the order, the apex court had begun hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the extension.
The 63-year-old official was first appointed as ED director in November 2018. His appointment letter was later modified in 2020 with the two year term being changed to three years. The government also promulgated an ordinance last year under which the tenure of the ED and CBI chiefs could be extended by up to three years after the mandated term of two years.
Who is Sanjay Kumar Mishra?
The 1984-batch IRS officer has led the Enforcement Directorate since mid-2018. He was first appointed as the interim director of the ED before assuming the top role in a more permanent capacity three months later. His tenure has seen several high-profile political leaders – many from the Opposition ranks – coming under ED scrutiny.
Under Mishra the ED has launched probes against Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi’s husband Robert Vadra, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah. Opposition parties have often accused the government of misusing the central probe agency to target their leaders.
Prior to his work with the ED, Mishra had been posted as the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax in New Delhi. Considered to be an economic expert, he is also believed to have successfully probed several hight level cases pertaining to Income Tax.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Updated: 11 Jul 2023, 05:38 PM IST
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