The Supreme Court will take up the petition challenging the decision of the Central government to extend the tenure of ED Director Sanjay Mishra by one more year on September 12.
The Bench of Chief Justice U.U. Lalit and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat adjourned the matter after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought time to file a reply on the issue.
The SG told the Bench that most of the petitions have been filed by those political parties, whose leaders were being investigated by the ED.
The Apex Court then observed that in such a situation, these public interest litigations were not genuine and authentic, but a gimmick to create pressure.
It appointed Senior Advocate K.V. Viswanathan as Amicus Curiae in the matter.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan raised objection to the same, stating that the case has been adjourned twice and that this was a serious matter of concern.
Senior Advocate A.M. Singhvi said there was a big legal question involved. The tenure can be extended for one year up to five years at a time. It was a general concept, but it was not correct to allow it for only one person.
Advocate M.L. Sharma objected and said that he had filed this petition in 2021. His petition on the same issue was not heard, adding that he was the first person to file this petition.
“My name should be the first title,” he demanded.
The CJI asked Sharma, “What is important to you? Name or issue raised?”
Sharma replied that that both were important. He said, “If I am the first petitioner, I have the right of first name and first argument. No counter has been filed on my petition.”
The Supreme Court will hear the matter on September 12.
The petitions were filed by leaders of various political parties, including Congress and AITC. The petitioners included Dr Jaya Thakur, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Saket Gokhale, Mahua Moitra, Krishna Chander Singh, Vineet Narain and Manoharlal Sharma.
They contended that the Central government’s decision to extend Mishra’s tenure was in violation of the Apex Court judgement of September, 2021, which had directed the Centre against giving more extensions to Mishra.