Connect with us
Friday,20-September-2024
Breaking News

National News

SC agrees to extend tenure of ED chief Sanjay Mishra till September 15 (Lead)

Published

on

 The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to extend, till September 15, the tenure of the present ED Director Sanjay Mishra, who was due to demit office on July 31 in accordance with its recent judgement.

“In ordinary circumstances we would not have accepted such an application…taking into consideration larger public interest, we permit the ED Director to continue till September 15, 2023,” a special bench of Justices B.R. Gavai, Vikram Nath, and Sanjay Karol ordered.

However, the bench clarified that it will not entertain any further application by the Centre seeking extension of tenure of the present ED Director. It said that Mishra will cease to hold the post from the midnight of September 15/16, 2023.

At the outset of the hearing, the bench asked whether the ED does not have any other competent officer to deal with the FATF review.

“Are you not giving a picture that your entire department is full of incompetent officers? You have only one officer? Is it not demoralising the entire force?” queried the special bench.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, repeatedly urged before the court that any change in leadership at the ED would adversely impact India’s national interests in view of the ongoing FATF Review which is at a critical stage.

“Circumstances are unusual. From November 3, FATF will visit India. This is a peer review of the past 5 years. This isn’t an annual exercise. Continuity will help the country,” he said.

“It is not that one person is indispensable. It’s just that continuity will help give a better presentation to the international body. We need continuity to put forth that before the international body,” he added.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body which has developed its recommendations to prevent and combat money laundering and terror financing. Around 200 countries, including India, have committed to implement these standards. The FATF conducts peer reviews of all its member countries on a regular basis to assess levels of implementation of the FATF recommendations and provide an in-depth description and analysis of each country’s system for preventing criminal abuse of the financial system.

On the other hand, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi opposed the application for extension, saying that Centre is making an attempt to get a review of the judgment rendered by the apex court.

Senior advocate Anoop G. Chaudhari, representing original writ petitioners, argued that in relation to FAFT, the main authority is Union Revenue Secretary and application filed by the Centre is “misconceived” and “deserves to be rejected”.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan went on to say that the Centre’s application is a “gross abuse of process of court” and a review application has been filed in guise of an application seeking extension.
In its order delivered in open court, the bench allowed the Union government’s request “in view of the larger public interest”, but granted an extension only till September 15, while the application moved by the Centre has requested extension up to October 15.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court agreed to constitute a special bench to hear the Centre’s application on July 27 after Mehta sought an urgent listing of the matter.

In a judgement on July 11, the Supreme Court dubbed the extension of Mishra as “illegal” for violating the mandate of the top court’s judgment in 2021. However, the top court had allowed him to continue in the post till July 31 taking into consideration the concerns expressed by the Union government with regard to the FATF review and taking into consideration that the process of fresh appointment would take some time.

The court had held that the extension granted to Mishra was contrary to an earlier 2021 judgment rendered by a division bench of the Supreme Court in this regard.

Mishra was first appointed as ED Director for a two-year term in November 2018. His term expired in November 2020. In May 2020, he had reached the retirement age of 60.

However, on November 13, 2020, the Central government issued an office order stating that the President had modified the 2018 order to the effect that a time of ‘two years’ was changed to a period of ‘three years.’ This was challenged before the Supreme Court by the NGO Common Cause.

The Supreme Court in a September 2021 verdict approved the modification, but ruled against granting more extensions to Mishra. After the court’s decision in 2021, the Central government brought in an ordinance amending the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act, giving itself the power to extend the tenure of the ED Director by up to five years, and the law in this regard was subsequently passed by the Parliament.

“Challenge to CVC Act and Delhi Special Police Establishment Act is dismissed to that extent. Extension granted to Sanjay Kumar Mishra after Supreme Court verdict is illegal. However, he is permitted to hold office till July 31, 2023,” the court had ordered on July 11.

National News

Shivdeep Lande: Bihar’s Singham IPS Shivdeep Lande resigns from police service, because in bouquet, what to do next?

Published

on

Patna: Marathmole IPS officer Shivdeep Lande popularly known as Singham of Bihar has resigned from the police service. Shivdeep Lande gave information about this by sharing a post on social media. In this post, Shivdeep Lande said, “My dear Bihar, I am now resigning from my post after 18 years of service through government posts. Throughout my tenure, I have considered the state of Bihar above myself and above my family. I am sorry if I have missed anything during my service. I have resigned from Indian Police Service. However, I will stay in Bihar. Shivdeep Lande has mentioned in his Facebook post that Bihar will be my Karmabhoomi from now on.

Shivdeep Lande, a 2006 batch IPS officer, was currently a Superintendent in the Bihar Special Task Force. He is well known in Bihar for his fearless work style. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also expressed regret when Shivdeep Lande was transferred to Maharashtra for some time. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not want to release Lande. However, Singham Shivdeep Lande was allowed to return to Swagrihi i.e. Maharashtra.

Who is Shivdeep Lande?
Shivdeep Lande, 40, is a 2006 batch IPS officer. Shivdeep has graduated in Electrical Engineering. Shivdeep was born on 29 August 1976 at Badsingi in Buldana district. The house situation is very bad. Shivdeep has an elder sister and a younger brother. Shivdeep’s primary education was done in Zilla Parishad School. He then graduated from Amravati University through government quota in Electronic Engineering. After this, Shivdeep directly reached Mumbai for his job. He worked as a lecturer in engineering college in many colleges in Mumbai. But the desire to do something for the society did not allow him to sit still. So he prepared for UPSC. Shivdeep Lande, who passed UPSC, wanted to become a collector. But due to not getting rank, he had to accept IPS.

First posting
Shivdeep Lande was posted as Superintendent of Police in Jamalpur near Munger, Bihar. This area was known as Naxal infested. This area was known as the area of ​​Naxalites who were firing on the police. It is here that Superintendent of Police Surendra Babu was killed by Naxalites in 2005. So the police were afraid to go to this place. But in the very first appointment, Shivdeep made an impression on his work and won the trust of the locals. Every week they visit the area and meet the locals. So he got the support of the locals. It resulted in a reduction in crime. Shivdeep ended crime in Bihar by carrying out many striking operations. Political pressure was put on them to stop the strike action. He was also transferred. However, Bihari people had come to the streets against Shivdeep’s transfer.

Continue Reading

Crime

Tripura: Police Seize 44 Kg Of Drugs Worth Rs 2.52 Lakh At Agartala Railway Station

Published

on

Agartala (Tripura): Agartala Government Railway (GRP) Police seized 44 kg of drugs worth Rs 2.52 lakhs at Agartala Railway Station, railway police said on Tuesday.

About The Seizure

Acting on a tip-off, police on Tuesday conducted a search near the 13th rail track on the Agartala to Jirania route, near Agartala Railway Station. During the operation, authorities recovered 44 kg of dried cannabis from bushes alongside the tracks. The narcotics were allegedly being smuggled out of the state via train.

According to the police, the seized cannabis has an estimated market value of approximately Rs 2.52 lakhs. The Agartala GRP (Government Railway Police) station has launched an investigation to identify the individuals responsible for this illegal consignment. Further action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation.

Continue Reading

National News

Atishi Likely To Address First House Session As Delhi Chief Minister On September 26 And 27

Published

on

Delhi: Aam Admi Party leader and the successor of Arvind Kejriwal as the Chief Minister of Delhi, Atishi Marlena Singh, will likely address her first session as the head of the Delhi assembly next Thursday, September 26. The Delhi government has announced a two-day special session on September 26 and 27, as reported by party officials.

Atishi Takes Over After Kejriwal As Delhi CM

The choice to convene a special session aligns with Arvind Kejriwal stepping down as the chief minister and CM-designate Atishi asserting her right to govern. A senior party member mentioned that the meeting’s agenda is still undecided.

When Will Atishi Take Oath As Delhi’s New CM?

Atishi Marlena, the newly appointed Chief Minister of Delhi, has not yet been sworn in. Although the dates haven’t officially been announced yet, as per a few reports, the oath-taking ceremony is scheduled to occur before the Delhi Assembly session. The Speaker’s Office has announced that the Delhi Assembly session is scheduled for September 26 and 27.

Atishi To Address House

Atishi is scheduled to address the house on the challenges confronting Delhi and to assure the path forward. The member stated that it is uncertain if the oath-taking ceremony will be finished by then, as it will rely on the dates given by LG VK Saxena after approval from the President.

SK Sharma, a constitutional expert and a former secretary to the Lok Sabha and the Delhi assembly, said, “The power to appoint minister and chief minister is with the President. The head of legislative group has laid stake to power. Since AAP has brute majority, there should be no hurdle.”

“A date for oath-taking ceremony needs to be fixed, which is at the discretion of the President and LG.” Sharma said.

“Atishi will be speaking at the house on issues being faced by Delhi and the way ahead. It is not yet clear whether the oath-taking ceremony would be complete by then, as it will depend on the dates provided by LG VK Saxena after concurrence from the President,”

Assembly Sessions

Throughout the course of a year, there are typically three significant assembly sessions conducted, namely the budget session, monsoon session, and winter session. However, there have been occasions where the legislative assembly has convened more than three sessions to address the urgent matters presented by the government. There must also not be a gap longer than six months between two sessions.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending