Parliament passes bill to extend ED director tenure up to 5 yrs

Parliament has passed a bill to extend the tenure of director of Enforcement Directorate to a maximum of five years.

The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021, passed in Lok Sabha on December 9, was moved by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension Jitendra Singh in the Upper House and cleared by voice vote on Tuesday.

Prior to the bill being taken up, most of the opposition members had walked out of the House to protest the suspension of their 12 members.

The Bill seeks to extend the tenure of the director of the Enforcement Directorate from two years to five years.

While introducing the Bill, Singh said the amendments are in the interest of national security and for the stability of the financial structure.

"Enforcement director has a very crucial role even in money laundering cases, and is possibly the only agency of its kind available in India. But for India, most of the other countries have a much longer term. And here also, the term is not being made indefinite...," he said.

The clause on tenure which says "not less than two years" is just being amended to "'go up to five years" with a one-year extension on each occasion, he added.