The tenure of the Directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate can now be extended by up to three years after the mandated term of two years, according to two ordinances brought in by the government on Sunday.
In both cases, an extension of a year each for three years can be given to the Directors after clearance by the committees constituted for their appointments, according to the ordinances.
The Centre's move, which drew sharp criticism from the Opposition, comes close on the heels of the Supreme Court saying that extension of tenure of officers who have attained the age of superannuation should only be granted in rare and exceptional cases and for a short duration.
The apex court stated this in a matter related to the extension granted in 2020 to Enforcement Directorate chief SK Mishra, a 1984-batch IRS officer who is due to retire on November 17.
However, with the promulgation of the ordinance it remains to be seen whether Mishra would continue as the ED chief or not, officials said.
The Central Vigilance Commissioner, Vigilance Commissioners, Secretaries of Home Ministry, Revenue department and Department of Personnel decide on the appointment of ED Director.
The prime minister, the leader of Opposition and the chief justice of India decide on the appointment of the CBI Director.
The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Ordinance and Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 will come into effect "at once".
The Congress, Trinamool Congress and Left parties accused the government of mocking Parliament and questioned its intention, asking why it did not wait for the upcoming winter session.
The Directors of CBI and ED have a fixed tenure of two years from the date of their appointment following the directives of the Supreme Court in the famous Vineet Narain case.
The CVC ordinance promulgated by President Ram Nath Kovind states: "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 reasons to be recorded in writing, be extended up to one year at a time:
"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," it states.
The ED Director is appointed by the central government on the recommendation of a committee chaired by the Central Vigilance Commissioner and members comprising of Vigilance Commissioners, Home Secretary, Secretary DOPT and Revenue Secretary.
The second ordinance inserts the provision in DSPE Act that "Provided that the period for which the Director holds the office on his initial appointment may, in public interest, on the recommendation of the Committee under sub-section (1) of section 4A and for the reasons to be recorded in writing, be extended up to one year at a time:
"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," it states.
The fixed term of two years was aimed at ensuring the chiefs of CBI and ED work free from government interference without worrying about any adverse action for the probes carried out by them.
In its order in Mishra's case, the Supreme Court had said it did not intend to interfere with the extension granted to him "for the reason that his tenure is coming to an end in November 2021" but made it clear that "no further extension shall be granted to" him beyond that date.
"We should make it clear that extension of tenure granted to officers who have attained the age of superannuation should be done only in rare and exceptional cases," the court had said and added that a reasonable period of extension can be granted to facilitate the completion of ongoing investigations only after reasons are recorded by the Committee constituted under the CVC Act.
Any extension of tenure granted to persons holding the post of Director of Enforcement after attaining the age of superannuation should be for a short period, the top court had said.
The Congress questioned the need for extending the tenures of CBI and ED Directors.
"By hanging the allurement of yearly extensions before people who would occupy these sensitive offices NDA/BJP Govt wants to subvert whatever little is left of institutional integrity of these two Org's Message is clear Hound the opposition & get extensions," party spokesperson Manish Tewari said on Twitter.
Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the "desperate hurry smacks of something fishy".
Trinamool COngress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien also hit out at the government.
"How Modi-Shah's BJP mock #Parliament and shamelessly use Ordinances. Same stunt repeated today to keep their pet parrots in ED and CBI," he said in a tweet.
