SC judge recuses from hearing pleas

New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Justice S K Kaul on Friday recused himself from hearing the pleas challenging the amended law allowing extension of up to five years for the ED director, a day after Sanjay Kumar Mishra was given a fresh one-year extension as the chief of the anti-money laundering agency.

Though the judge did not assign any reason for his decision announced in an open court, the SC had last year made it clear that Mishra will not be granted any further extension.

A bench of Justices Kaul and A S Oka was hearing a batch of petitions on the contentious issue of grant of extension to the chiefs of the Enforcement Directorate.

Justice Kaul ordered the matter to be listed before a bench of which he is not a member.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for one of the petitioners, told the bench the Centre had given a fresh extension in service to the incumbent Director of the Enforcement Directorrater Mishra to "frustrate" the petitions pending before the apex court.

"Since the counsel for the parties have expressed some urgency in the matter, the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of India for necessary orders," the bench said.

A batch of petitions, including those filed by Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Jaya Thakur, and TMC's Mahua Moitra and Saket Gokhale, had come up for hearing before the bench.

According to an official order, the Union government on Thursday gave a fresh one-year extension to Mishra, the third for the Indian Revenue Service officer in the position.

The notification issued by the government said the 1984 batch Indian Revenue Service officer will be in office till November 18, 2023.