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

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 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.

Entertainment

Mithun Chakraborty’s Wallet Gets Stolen During BJP Roadshow In Jharkhand, Organisers Request Pickpockets To Return It

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Actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty found himself in a sticky situation after his wallet was stolen from his pocket during his mega roadshow in Jharkhand on Tuesday. The actor campaigned for BJP in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, and that is when he got pickpocketed, leaving the organisers red-faced.

A video from the rally has now gone viral in which the organisers and other BJP karyakartas can be heard repeatedly requesting the pickpockets to return the veteran star’s wallet. “Whoever has stolen the wallet, please return it to Mithun Da,” a BJP member was seen urging the crowd.

Despite repeated pleas, the wallet was not returned.

Chakraborty led a massive roadshow in the Nirsa Assembly area of Jharkhand to extend his support to BJP candidate Aparna Sen Gupta. Thousands of people gathered at the venue to catch one glimpse of the star, and it led to major chaos and mismanagement at the spot.

Despite security forces in place, the crowd went out of control and rushed towards the stage to click photos and videos of the actor and see him from up close. It was during this chaos that Chakraborty’s wallet was stolen.

Disappointed by the fiasco, Chakraborty concluded the event sooner than expected and rushed back to safety.

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National News

Ugly Fight Breaks Out Between 2 Groups Of Women As They Hit Each Other With Sticks Over Playing Music In UP’s Baghpat

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A dispute over a seemingly trivial matter escalated into a chaotic clash between two groups of women in Uttar Pradesh’s Doghat on Thursday. 

As per reports, the altercation began over playing music but tensions in the area quickly intensified when two groups of women started thrashing each other with sticks and other objects. 

A video of the incident, which has gone viral on social media, shows around eight to ten women involved in a fierce brawl on a busy street. Bystanders can be seen watching in shock, with some attempting to intervene but retreating due to the intensity of the fight.

Several women were injured in the confrontation, and the footage has sparked outrage on social media. 

Reports suggest that local residents eventually managed to de-escalate the situation, but not before multiple women sustained injuries. 

Doghat police have initiated an investigation based on the video. As per reports, they are currently examining the video footage, and appropriate action will be taken following the investigation.

UP: Two burnt alive in truck collision in Fatehpur

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a truck driver and his helper were burnt alive when two trucks collided and caught fire in the Hussainganj area of Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district, police said on Thursday.

The incident occurred around midnight on Wednesday on the Fatehpur-Lucknow road, Additional SP Vijay Shankar Mishra said.

Vinay Shukla (35), the driver of one of the trucks, and his helper, Ramraj Yadav (23), were burnt alive in the blaze. The occupants of the other truck managed to jump out before the fire spread, Mishra added.

Both victims were residents of Kherwa village in the Shivratanganj police station area of Amethi district. Their bodies have been sent for postmortem, Mishra said.

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National News

J&K Assembly: Scuffle Breaks Out After Engineer Rashid’s Brother Shows Article 370 Banner In House

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J&K Assembly: Scuffle Breaks Out After Engineer Rashid's Brother Shows Article 370 Banner In House

Srinagar: The proceedings of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were disrupted after a scuffle broke out in the House between National Conference and BJP MLAs.

According to reports, the House proceedings were briefly adjourned after Engineer Rashid’s brother, MLA Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh, displayed a banner about Article 370, which led to objections from BJP MLA Sunil Sharma.

Irfan Hafeez Lone displayed a banner on the restoration of Article 370 in the J&K Assembly. After a scuffle between Lone and BJP members, the House proceedings were adjourned for 15 minutes. BJP raised concerns over security, questioning how such actions were allowed.

Leader of the Opposition, Sunil Sharma, stated that under special status, some had built their own “palaces” and even cemeteries. This provoked anger from National Conference (NC) leaders. BJP members began chanting slogans in the House, while NC leaders also responded with their own slogans. The visuals of the incident have surfaced on the internet.

In the viral video, the lawmakers can be seen pushing each other on the floor of the house.

After the House resumed following the scuffle, several opposition MLAs causing disruption were physically removed by marshals and evicted from the Assembly.

Meanwhile, PDP moves a fresh resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly seeking the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A. The BJP opposed the resolution demanding its withdrawal.

Amid uproar, the Jammu and Kashmir assembly has been adjourned till Friday. The UT assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution seeking a dialogue for “restoration of special status and constitutional guarantees” to the Jammu and Kashmir. The resolution was supported by all parties except the BJP.

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