ED Director Karnal Singh gets two-year fixed term

Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Karnal Singh was on Tuesday given a fixed two-year tenure to head the anti-money laundering investigation agency following a recent Supreme Court directive.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved two-year fixed term for Singh effective from October 27, 2016, as per a fresh official order.

In October last year, the ACC had approved the name of Singh, a Union Territories cadre officer, as ED chief until August 31, 2017.

The government's move came considering Singh's retirement due in August this year and following the recent direction by the apex court to the government to issue a fresh notification within a week on the appointment of the 1984 batch Indian Police Service officer as the ED Director for two years, in line with the provisions of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act.

While hearing a PIL petition filed last year by Mumbai-based former Indian Revenue Service officer Uday Babu Khalwadekar in this regard, the apex court had recently said the fresh order would make it clear that Singh's appointment as ED chief would be for two years from October 27.

The Supreme Court had noted that as per the appointment letter issued to Singh, he would cease to hold office the day he superannuates in August 2017, which was violative of Section 25(d) of the CVC Act.

Singh had held the additional charge of the post of ED chief since August 19, 2015, until the time he was elevated as the Director.

However, the post of ED chief had fallen vacant after the government curtailed the tenure of Rajan S. Katoch, the previous ED Director, in August 2015.

--IANS

rak/nir/vt