Ordinances to extend the tenures of the directors of CBI and ED

• IAS NEXT, Lucknow
• 17, Nov 2021

Reference News:

President Ram Nath Kovind has promulgated two ordinances that would allow the Centre to extend the tenures of the directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate from two years to up to five years.

• Currently, the tenure of chiefs of ED and CBI is two years.

Laws amended:

1. The change in tenure of the CBI Director was done by amending the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
2. On the other hand, the changes to the tenure of the ED Director was brought in by amending the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003.

Amendments to the Fundamental Rules, 1922:

The Personnel Ministry has issued an order to amend the Fundamental Rules, 1922 adding the two posts to the list whose services can be extended by up to two years beyond the two-year fixed tenure in “public interest”.

• The previous list comprised Defence Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary, Director, Intelligence Bureau and Secretary, Research and Analysis Wing.

About the CBI Director and his appointment:

• The Director of the CBI is appointed as per section 4A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act of 1946.
• The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act (2013) says that the Central Government shall appoint the Director of CBI on the recommendation of a three-member committee consisting of the Prime Minister as Chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India or Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by him.
• Further, the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Act, 2014 made a change in the composition of the committee related to the appointment of the Director of C.B.I. It states that where there is no recognized leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, then the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha would be a member of that committee.

About Enforcement Directorate:

1. The origin of this Directorate goes back to 1st May, 1956, when an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed, in the Department of Economic Affairs, for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (FERA ’47).
2. In the year 1957, this Unit was renamed as ‘Enforcement Directorate’.
3. Presently, it is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
4. The Organization is mandated with the task of enforcing the provisions of two special fiscal laws – Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).

Composition:

Besides directly recruiting personnel, the Directorate also draws officers from different Investigating Agencies, viz., Customs & Central Excise, Income Tax, Police, etc. on deputation.