Summary
The Court upheld the 2021 amendments permitting limited tenure extensions for the ED and CBI Directors, subject to statutory safeguards. It nevertheless held Sanjay Kumar Mishra’s two further extensions unlawful because they breached the Court’s binding direction prohibiting any further extension to him. For a smooth transition and the stated FATF concerns, he was permitted to continue only until 31 July 2023 under this judgment.
Issues
- Whether the 2021 statutory and service-rule amendments permitting tenure extensions were constitutionally valid.
- Whether the individual ED Director’s extensions could stand despite the earlier binding no-extension direction.
- What transitional relief should follow invalidation of those extensions.
Provisions considered
- Section 25(d), as amended in 2021, Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003The amendment allowing extensions up to one year at a time, subject to committee recommendation, public interest, written reasons and a five-year total cap, was upheld. (¶¶ 55, 60, 64, 78, 79, 83, 84, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 98)
- Sections 4A and 4B(1), as amended in 2021, Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946The statutory recommendation process and safeguards supported validity of limited CBI Director extensions without reducing the minimum tenure. (¶¶ 56, 57, 61, 64, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 94, 98)
- Rule 56(d), fifth proviso as substituted in 2021, Fundamental Rules, 1922The corresponding service-extension amendment was upheld with the valid statutory amendments. (¶¶ 62, 95, 96, 97, 98)
- Article 14, Constitution of IndiaConstitutional review included manifest arbitrariness with a presumption of validity; the safeguarded extension provisions survived, while legislative intrusion into binding judicial decisions remained impermissible. (¶¶ 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 94, 109, 110, 113, 114, 115, 116)
Held
- A challenge to legislation requires a constitutional infirmity rather than disagreement with legislative wisdom. The Court recognized legislative competence, fundamental-right or other constitutional violations and manifest arbitrariness as relevant grounds while retaining the presumption of constitutionality. (¶¶ 68, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76)
- The amendments preserved the minimum two-year tenure and permitted extensions only through the prescribed recommending committees, in public interest and with written reasons, subject to a total five-year ceiling. Those safeguards defeated the contention that extensions depended merely on the Government’s pleasure or destroyed institutional insulation. (¶¶ 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94)
- The corresponding Fundamental Rules amendment was not impermissible once the statutory extension framework was upheld. The challenge to the two amending Acts and the service-rule amendment therefore failed. (¶¶ 95, 96, 97, 98)
- Legislation may validly remove the legal foundation of a judgment, including retrospectively within constitutional limits, but cannot merely annul a binding individual mandamus or exercise appellate judicial power. Common Cause had already recognized power to extend tenure generally, while expressly prohibiting further extension to this incumbent; the amendments did not remove the basis of that specific direction. (¶¶ 102, 103, 108, 109, 110, 111, 113, 114, 115, 116)
- The Union and incumbent were parties bound by the earlier mandamus. The orders of 17 November 2021 and 17 November 2022 granting him further one-year extensions were consequently illegal despite the validity of the general amendments. (¶¶ 103, 111, 115, 116, 121)
- Taking account of the stated FATF review concern and time needed to appoint a successor, the Court permitted the incumbent to continue until 31 July 2023 for transition. That limited direction did not validate the impugned one-year extensions. (¶¶ 119, 121, 122)
Result
Challenges to the 2021 amendments rejected; petitions partly allowed to declare the incumbent ED Director’s 2021 and 2022 extension orders illegal. Continuation permitted until 31 July 2023. All petitions and applications disposed of without costs.