The court had held that the extension granted to Mishra was contrary to an earlier 2021 judgment rendered by a division bench of the Supreme Court in this regard.
Mishra was first appointed as the ED Director for a two-year term in November 2018. His term expired in November 2020. In May 2020, he had reached the retirement age of 60.
However, on November 13, 2020, the Central government issued an office order stating that the President had modified the 2018 order to the effect that a time of 'two years' was changed to a period of 'three years'. This was challenged before the Supreme Court by the NGO Common Cause.
The Supreme Court in a September 2021 verdict approved the modification, but ruled against granting more extensions to Mishra.
After the court's decision in 2021, the Central government brought in an ordinance amending the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act, giving itself the power to extend the tenure of the ED Director by up to five years. A law was passed by Parliament in this regard allowing extensions to the tenure of the ED Director for one year at a time, subject to a maximum of five years.
"Challenge to CVC Act and Delhi Special Police Establishment Act is dismissed to that extent. Extension granted to Sanjay Kumar Mishra after Supreme Court verdict is illegal. However, he is permitted to hold office till July 31, 2023," the Court ordered on July 11.
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