ED director's tenure expansion declared illegal by Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of India has declared the two term expansion given as "not legally valid" to the Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) beyond the prescribed cut-off date.
The current director was appointed for a period of two years in November 2018. His term was extended for three years in November 2020, which was later challenged through the petition.
In 2021, the Supreme Court rejected the petition, but a specific mandate was issued in which further expansion was banned. Later, the government amended the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003 and Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 to provide the powers of three -year term expansion to itself.
The ED director is appointed under Section 25 of the CVC Act, 2003. The central government appoints the Director of ED on the recommendation of a selection committee. The committee consists of CVC President, Vigilance Commissioner, Home Ministry, Ministry of Personnel and Secretary of the Finance Ministry of the Central Government. Enforcement Directorate
ED is a multi-disciplinary organization that has the right to investigate a violation of foreign exchange laws with crimes of money laundering. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Revenue Department of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
In the year 1956, a 'enforcement unit' was formed. In the year 1957, the name of this unit was changed to 'Enforcement Directorate'. Its headquarters is in New Delhi and five regional offices are located in Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Delhi.
