ED chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra to remain in office till 15 September; SC cites ‘larger public interest’

livemint.com:

Enforcement Directorate chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra to continue till 15 September, a month less than what the India government has sought from the apex court. The Supreme Court of India cited ‘larger public interest’ for the extension granted to the ED chief. Supreme Court of India also noted that there would not be any further extension and that Sanjay Kumar Mishra shall cease to occupy the post from midnight of 15-16 September.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ruled Indian Government had approached the Supreme Court of India seeking Kumar's continuance as the ED chief till 15 October. On Thursday the apex court heard Centre's plea for extending ED chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra's tenure till 15 October. During the hearing, Centre mentioned that some neighbouring countries want India to fall into Financial Action Task Force(FATF)'s 'grey list' and therefore ED chief's is post continuity is necessary.

Centre said that Kumar's absence during the ongoing FATF review will adversely impact India's national interests. The Supreme Court had earlier called the repeated extensions granted to ED Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra as ‘illegal’. The Centre also emphasised that Mishra, 63, has been engaged in preparation of documents and fulfilling other requirements for mutual evaluation since the beginning of the year 2020 and, accordingly, his continuation in this arduous and delicate process at this "critical stage" is essential.