New Delhi : The central government has brought two ordinances to extend the tenure of Central Bureau of Investigation and Directorate of Enforcement for up to the period of five years. The present tenure of the central government agency chiefs is of two years.
Both the ordinances have been signed off by President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
According to sources, “Provided that the period for which the Director of Enforcement holds the office on his initial appointment may, in public interest, on the recommendation of the Committee under clause(a) and for the reason to be recorded in writing, be extended up to one year at a time,” the Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 said.
As per the reports, “Provided further that no such extension shall be granted after the completion of a period of five years in total including the period mentioned in the initial appointment,” the ordinance said.
The other ordinance according to the sources read as, ‘The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021’ also has the similar amendment and comes into force at once.
A Supreme Court bench which is headed by Justice LN Rao – recently gave a judgment in the case linked to the extension of Enforcement Directorte chief SK Mishra, who took charge in 2018, underlining the extension of tenure “should be done only in rare and exceptional cases”.
The Enforcement Directorate, “a specialized financial investigation agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance”, investigates the cases linked to Foreign Exchange Laws and Regulations and money laundering.
The opposition parties, in the past, have accused the central government of misusing the central investigative agencies amid the probes targeting top leaders and former ministers.
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