The Evening Wrap: SC issues notice to govt on ED Director's tenure extension

The Supreme Court on August 2 sought the government’s response on petitions challenging the “piecemeal” tenure extensions given to Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra. The petitions filed by the likes of Congress party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, social activist and General Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Congress Mahila Committee Jaya Thakur have sought the quashing of a government order of November 2021 extending Mishra’s tenure by a year. Appearing before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, the petitioners have questioned the legality of amendments made to the Central Vigilance Commission Act by way of promulgation of an ordinance in November last year. This ordinance, which allows extensions upto five years for ED Director, paved the way for the government to stretch Mishra’s tenure by a year till November 2022. The ordinance, which became an Act in December, was promulgated within days of a Supreme Court order barring any further extensions to Mishra, the petitioners contended. “Piecemeal extensions of tenure like this takes away the fixity of tenure, which is the hallmark of independence,” senior advocate A.M. Singhvi contended for the petitioners. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, also for the petitioners, submitted that Mishra is going to finish his fourth year as ED Director and may also get another year’s extension in November 2022. On a question from the Bench about the selection process for ED Director, he submitted that the selection committee was composed entirely of members of the executive without any “external” authorities like the Chief Justice of India as in the case of the selection of the CBI Director. “The selection process gives complete unfettered discretion to the executive,” Singhvi said. Sankaranarayanan said the apex court order that Mishra should not be given any further extension at the top of the specialised Central agency which investigates sensitive cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act came on September 8, 2021. The ordinance came on November 14 last year, just four days before Mishra’s tenure was going to end on November 18. Saket Gokhale, another petitioner, argued that Mishra had not filed the returns of his moveable and immovable property for five years. “On the first instance itself he is disqualified,” Gokhale’s lawyer submitted. “The official memorandum of the Department of Personnel and Training requires officials to file their returns of moveable and immovable property annually, by January 1 itself every year. They are filed in the department and uploaded on the website,” the lawyer said. Not doing so would attract disciplinary action and the official would also not be considered for promotion, he noted. “This gentleman has not filed for five years and is still being promoted and given extensions… Let the government say how it wants to respect its own official memorandum,” he challenged. Top al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri killed in Afghanistan in U.S. operation A CIA drone strike has killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan, according to five people familiar with the matter. Current and former officials began hearing Sunday afternoon that al-Zawahiri had been killed in a drone strike, but the administration delayed releasing the information until his death could be confirmed. White House officials declined to confirm al-Zawahiri was killed but noted in a statement that the United States conducted a “successful” counterterrorism operation against a significant al-Qaeda target, adding that “there were no civilian casualties.” According to officials, Zawahiri, 71, was on the balcony of the safe house when the drone fired two missiles at him. Other family members were present, but they were unharmed and only Zawahiri was killed. President Joe Biden said in an evening address on August 1 from the White House that U.S. intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahiri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The President approved the operation last week and it was carried out on Sunday. Al-Zawahiri and the better known Osama bin Laden plotted the 9/11 attacks that brought many ordinary Americans their first knowledge of al-Qaeda. Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, in an operation carried out by U.S. Navy Seals after a nearly decade-long hunt. “He will never again, never again, allow Afghanistan to become a terrorist safe haven because he is gone and we’re going to make sure that nothing else happens,” Biden said. “This terrorist leader is no more,” he added. The operation is a significant counterterrorism win for the Biden administration just 11 months after American troops left the country after a two-decade war. The strike was carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Neither Biden nor the White House detailed the CIA’s involvement in the strike. Biden, however, paid tribute to the U.S. intelligence community in his remarks, noting that “thanks to their extraordinary persistence and skill” the operation was a “success.” Al-Zawahiri’s loss eliminates the figure who more than anyone shaped al-Qaeda, first as bin Laden’s deputy since 1998, then as his successor. Together, he and bin Laden turned the jihadi movement’s guns to target the United States, carrying out the deadliest attack ever on American soil — the September 11 suicide hijackings. The house Al-Zawahiri was in when he was killed was owned by a top aide to senior Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, according to a senior intelligence official. The official also added that a CIA ground team and aerial reconnaissance conducted after the drone strike confirmed al-Zawahiri’s death. A senior administration official who briefed reporters on the operation on condition of anonymity said “zero” U.S. personnel were in Kabul. Over the 20-year war in Afghanistan, the U.S. targeted and splintered al-Qaeda, sending leaders into hiding. But America’s exit from Afghanistan last September gave the extremist group the opportunity to rebuild. U.S. military officials, including Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have said al-Qaeda was trying to reconstitute in Afghanistan, where it faced limited threats from the now-ruling Taliban. Military leaders have warned that the group still aspired to attack the U.S. The 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon made bin Laden America’s Enemy No. 1. But he likely could never have carried it out without his deputy. Bin Laden provided al-Qaeda with charisma and money, but al-Zawahiri brought tactics and organisational skills needed to forge militants into a network of cells in countries around the world. U.S. intelligence officials have been aware for years of a network helping al-Zawahiri dodge U.S. intelligence officials hunting for him, but did not have a lead on his possible location until recent months. Earlier this year, U.S. officials learned that the terror leader’s wife, daughter and her children had relocated to a safe house in Kabul, according to the senior administration official who briefed reporters. Officials eventually learned al-Zawahiri was also at the Kabul safe house. Opposition asks govt to acknowledge problem of price rise to fix it, BJP puts blame on global changes Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday appealed to the government to acknowledge the problem of rising inflation affecting the poor in India in order to fix it, but the ruling BJP asserted that it is a problem caused by global developments beyond the control of any country. In a dramatic moment, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar bit into a raw brinjal to ask if the Narendra Modi government was encouraging people to consume raw food as cooking gas or LPG cylinders were no longer affordable. Congress member Manish Tewari said that the Centre’s policies have hit 25 crore households in the country hard and widened the divide between the rich and the poor. Tewari alleged that the five pillars of the economy — savings, investment, production, consumption and employment — have been blown away due to the wrong policies of the Union government. “During the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) regime, 27 crore people were brought above the poverty line. Then it was learnt from a report, which was made public in 2021, that as many as 23 crore people are once again below the poverty line,” he said, adding that 77% of the country’s wealth is in the hands of 1% of the population. He said the wealth of the 92 most rich persons in India put together is equal to that of 55 crore Indians, and the number of billionaires in India had increased from 100 to 142 in these years. The debate also witnessed Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Pinaki Misra raising the issue of high net worth individuals giving up Indian citizenship and asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to look at the aspect of such people being harassed by Central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, and Central Board of Direct Taxes. Referring to the recent episodes of “mountains of cash” found with individuals, Misra argued that such recoveries only prove that cash is evading the tax system. BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said price rise hurts everyone and the Narendra Modi-led central government is constantly working to check it. The inflation is at 7% now and has not yet reached the double-digit level like in the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, he said. Javadekar further said due to coronavirus and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the supply chain was hit, pushing up the fuel and food prices globally. “This is beyond the control of any country. Not only India, prices have risen in other countries too,” he said. However, the burden of high fuel prices on the common man could have been reduced had the non-BJP States cut the value-added tax (VAT), he said, adding that the Centre had reduced the taxes on petrol and diesel twice and it was followed by BJP-ruled states. Refuting Javadekar’s claims, TMC leader Derek O’Brien said rising prices of essential commodities coupled with the imposition of GST on pre-packed food items, which was not agreed upon by the Opposition in the GST Council, and unemployment, is affecting the poor badly. On top of it, rupee appreciation has put pressure on the economy, he said. “We appeal to the government as a constructive Opposition, first, you have to acknowledge the problem. If you do not acknowledge the problem, how will you fix the problem?” he said. Brien further said the cess and surcharge have been increased to 20% from 10% 10 years ago. Two-thirds of it is collected by the Centre, thereby reducing the states’ share. “About 29% of youth are jobless in India. Subsidy on cooking gas has come down, but not the retail prices,” he said and sought the finance minister to respond to these issues. Echoing similar views, Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil said, “People are fed up. In a democracy, the government should listen to the Opposition. But today it is not so.” Prices of vegetables to fuel have risen sharply and people are committing suicide due to unemployment, he added. Opposition to move review petition on verdict upholding PMLA amendments The opposition has collectively decided to move the Supreme Court with a review petition against the recent Supreme Court verdict upholding the amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Opposition’s demand will be to nullify the amendments to the Act made in 2019 through the money Bill route. Briefing reporters after the two-day central committee meeting of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) here on Monday, the party’s general secretary Sitaram Yechury said Opposition parties will jointly take up the issue with the Supreme Court. He said the judgment must be reviewed and all amendments made in 2019 should be nullified. “It is a collective decision by the opposition,” Yechury said. A joint statement of the opposition on the matter is expected on Tuesday. The CPI(M) leader said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are increasingly functioning as a political arm of the Modi government in destabilising democratically elected State governments and targeting opposition leaders. “The recent judgment of the Supreme Court Bench headed by a judge who retired shortly thereafter, upheld all the 2019 amendments to the PMLA, lethally arming the ED further. This is a grievous assault on democracy,” he added. Yechury said the Modi government is carrying out unprecedented assaults on Parliament with its refusal to discuss any substantial motion on burning people’s issues such as price rise, unemployment, etc. Twenty-seven Members of Parliament have been suspended for this session, he noted. “This is unprecedented in Independent India,” the former MP said. He also condemned the manner in which activist Teesta Setalvad was arrested. “This was facilitated by an SC verdict by a Bench headed, again, by the same judge,” Yechury said. He demanded the immediate release of Setalvad, former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer R.B. Sreekumar, and the release of the Bhima Koregaon detainees, and others who have been detained over political issues. In Brief The India lawn bowls team bagged a historic gold medal at the Commonwealth Games on August 2, 2022, a day after getting the country hooked to the rarely-followed game with their inspiring show. The Indian quartet of Lovely Choubey (lead), Pinki (second), Nayanmoni Saikia (third) and Rupa Rani Tirkey (slip) beat South Africa 17-10 in the women’s fours final. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 02 AUGUST 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Supreme Court issues notice to govt on ED Director’s tenure extension The [Supreme Court on August 2 sought the government’s response on petitions challenging the “piecemeal” tenure extensions]( given to Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra. The petitions filed by the likes of Congress party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, social activist and General Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Congress Mahila Committee Jaya Thakur have sought the quashing of a government order of November 2021 extending Mishra’s tenure by a year. Appearing before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, the petitioners have questioned the legality of amendments made to the Central Vigilance Commission Act by way of promulgation of an ordinance in November last year. This ordinance, which allows extensions upto five years for ED Director, paved the way for the government to stretch Mishra’s tenure by a year till November 2022. The ordinance, which became an Act in December, was promulgated within days of a Supreme Court order barring any further extensions to Mishra, the petitioners contended. [ A view of Supreme Court of India in New Delhi. File] “Piecemeal extensions of tenure like this takes away the fixity of tenure, which is the hallmark of independence,” senior advocate A.M. Singhvi contended for the petitioners. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, also for the petitioners, submitted that Mishra is going to finish his fourth year as ED Director and may also get another year’s extension in November 2022. On a question from the Bench about the selection process for ED Director, he submitted that the selection committee was composed entirely of members of the executive without any “external” authorities like the Chief Justice of India as in the case of the selection of the CBI Director. “The selection process gives complete unfettered discretion to the executive,” Singhvi said. Sankaranarayanan said the apex court order that Mishra should not be given any further extension at the top of the specialised Central agency which investigates sensitive cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act came on September 8, 2021. The ordinance came on November 14 last year, just four days before Mishra’s tenure was going to end on November 18. Saket Gokhale, another petitioner, argued that Mishra had not filed the returns of his moveable and immovable property for five years. “On the first instance itself he is disqualified,” Gokhale’s lawyer submitted. “The official memorandum of the Department of Personnel and Training requires officials to file their returns of moveable and immovable property annually, by January 1 itself every year. They are filed in the department and uploaded on the website,” the lawyer said. Not doing so would attract disciplinary action and the official would also not be considered for promotion, he noted. “This gentleman has not filed for five years and is still being promoted and given extensions… Let the government say how it wants to respect its own official memorandum,” he challenged. Top al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri killed in Afghanistan in U.S. operation [A CIA drone strike has killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan]( according to five people familiar with the matter. Current and former officials began hearing Sunday afternoon that al-Zawahiri had been killed in a drone strike, but the administration delayed releasing the information until his death could be confirmed. [White House officials declined to confirm al-Zawahiri was killed]( but noted in a statement that the United States conducted a “successful” counterterrorism operation against a significant al-Qaeda target, adding that “there were no civilian casualties.” According to officials, Zawahiri, 71, was on the balcony of the safe house when the drone fired two missiles at him. Other family members were present, but they were unharmed and only Zawahiri was killed. President Joe Biden said in an evening address on August 1 from the White House that U.S. intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahiri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The President approved the operation last week and it was carried out on Sunday. Al-Zawahiri and the better known Osama bin Laden plotted the 9/11 attacks that brought many ordinary Americans their first knowledge of al-Qaeda. Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, in an operation carried out by U.S. Navy Seals after a nearly decade-long hunt. “He will never again, never again, allow Afghanistan to become a terrorist safe haven because he is gone and we’re going to make sure that nothing else happens,” Biden said. “This terrorist leader is no more,” he added. The operation is a significant counterterrorism win for the Biden administration just 11 months after American troops left the country after a two-decade war. The strike was carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Neither Biden nor the White House detailed the CIA’s involvement in the strike. B[iden, however, paid tribute to the U.S. intelligence community in his remarks]( noting that “thanks to their extraordinary persistence and skill” the operation was a “success.” Al-Zawahiri’s loss eliminates the figure who more than anyone shaped al-Qaeda, first as bin Laden’s deputy since 1998, then as his successor. Together, he and bin Laden turned the jihadi movement’s guns to target the United States, carrying out the deadliest attack ever on American soil — the September 11 suicide hijackings. The house Al-Zawahiri was in when he was killed was owned by a top aide to senior Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, according to a senior intelligence official. The official also added that a CIA ground team and aerial reconnaissance conducted after the drone strike confirmed al-Zawahiri’s death. A senior administration official who briefed reporters on the operation on condition of anonymity said “zero” U.S. personnel were in Kabul. Over the 20-year war in Afghanistan, the U.S. targeted and splintered al-Qaeda, sending leaders into hiding. But America’s exit from Afghanistan last September gave the extremist group the opportunity to rebuild. U.S. military officials, including Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have said al-Qaeda was trying to reconstitute in Afghanistan, where it faced limited threats from the now-ruling Taliban. Military leaders have warned that the group still aspired to attack the U.S. The 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon made bin Laden America’s Enemy No. 1. But he likely could never have carried it out without his deputy. Bin Laden provided al-Qaeda with charisma and money, but al-Zawahiri brought tactics and organisational skills needed to forge militants into a network of cells in countries around the world. U.S. intelligence officials have been aware for years of a network helping al-Zawahiri dodge U.S. intelligence officials hunting for him, but did not have a lead on his possible location until recent months. Earlier this year, U.S. officials learned that the terror leader’s wife, daughter and her children had relocated to a safe house in Kabul, according to the senior administration official who briefed reporters. Officials eventually learned al-Zawahiri was also at the Kabul safe house. Opposition asks govt to acknowledge problem of price rise to fix it, BJP puts blame on global changes [Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday appealed to the government to acknowledge the problem of rising inflation]( affecting the poor in India in order to fix it, but the ruling BJP asserted that it is a problem caused by global developments beyond the control of any country. In a dramatic moment, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar bit into a raw brinjal to ask if the Narendra Modi government was encouraging people to consume raw food as cooking gas or LPG cylinders were no longer affordable. [Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal speaks in the Rajya Sabha during ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, on August 2, 2022] Congress member Manish Tewari said that the Centre’s policies have hit 25 crore households in the country hard and widened the divide between the rich and the poor. Tewari alleged that the five pillars of the economy — savings, investment, production, consumption and employment — have been blown away due to the wrong policies of the Union government. “During the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) regime, 27 crore people were brought above the poverty line. Then it was learnt from a report, which was made public in 2021, that as many as 23 crore people are once again below the poverty line,” he said, adding that 77% of the country’s wealth is in the hands of 1% of the population. He said the wealth of the 92 most rich persons in India put together is equal to that of 55 crore Indians, and the number of billionaires in India had increased from 100 to 142 in these years. The debate also witnessed Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Pinaki Misra raising the issue of high net worth individuals giving up Indian citizenship and asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to look at the aspect of such people being harassed by Central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, and Central Board of Direct Taxes. Referring to the recent episodes of “mountains of cash” found with individuals, Misra argued that such recoveries only prove that cash is evading the tax system. BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said price rise hurts everyone and the Narendra Modi-led central government is constantly working to check it. The inflation is at 7% now and has not yet reached the double-digit level like in the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, he said. Javadekar further said due to coronavirus and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the supply chain was hit, pushing up the fuel and food prices globally. “This is beyond the control of any country. Not only India, prices have risen in other countries too,” he said. However, the burden of high fuel prices on the common man could have been reduced had the non-BJP States cut the value-added tax (VAT), he said, adding that the Centre had reduced the taxes on petrol and diesel twice and it was followed by BJP-ruled states. Refuting Javadekar’s claims, TMC leader Derek O’Brien said rising prices of essential commodities coupled with the imposition of GST on pre-packed food items, which was not agreed upon by the Opposition in the GST Council, and unemployment, is affecting the poor badly. On top of it, rupee appreciation has put pressure on the economy, he said. “We appeal to the government as a constructive Opposition, first, you have to acknowledge the problem. If you do not acknowledge the problem, how will you fix the problem?” he said. Brien further said the cess and surcharge have been increased to 20% from 10% 10 years ago. Two-thirds of it is collected by the Centre, thereby reducing the states’ share. “About 29% of youth are jobless in India. Subsidy on cooking gas has come down, but not the retail prices,” he said and sought the finance minister to respond to these issues. Echoing similar views, Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil said, “People are fed up. In a democracy, the government should listen to the Opposition. But today it is not so.” Prices of vegetables to fuel have risen sharply and people are committing suicide due to unemployment, he added. Opposition to move review petition on verdict upholding PMLA amendments  The [opposition has collectively decided to move the Supreme Court with a review petition]( against the recent Supreme Court verdict upholding the amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Opposition’s demand will be to nullify the amendments to the Act made in 2019 through the money Bill route. Briefing reporters after the two-day central committee meeting of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) here on Monday, the party’s general secretary Sitaram Yechury said Opposition parties will jointly take up the issue with the Supreme Court. He said the judgment must be reviewed and all amendments made in 2019 should be nullified. “It is a collective decision by the opposition,” Yechury said. A joint statement of the opposition on the matter is expected on Tuesday. The CPI(M) leader said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are increasingly functioning as a political arm of the Modi government in destabilising democratically elected State governments and targeting opposition leaders. “The recent judgment of the Supreme Court Bench headed by a judge who retired shortly thereafter, upheld all the 2019 amendments to the PMLA, lethally arming the ED further. This is a grievous assault on democracy,” he added. Yechury said the Modi government is carrying out unprecedented assaults on Parliament with its refusal to discuss any substantial motion on burning people’s issues such as price rise, unemployment, etc. Twenty-seven Members of Parliament have been suspended for this session, he noted. “This is unprecedented in Independent India,” the former MP said. He also condemned the manner in which activist Teesta Setalvad was arrested. “This was facilitated by an SC verdict by a Bench headed, again, by the same judge,” Yechury said. He demanded the immediate release of Setalvad, former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer R.B. Sreekumar, and the release of the Bhima Koregaon detainees, and others who have been detained over political issues. In Brief The [India lawn bowls team bagged a historic gold medal at the Commonwealth Games on August 2, 2022]( a day after getting the country hooked to the rarely-followed game with their inspiring show. The Indian quartet of Lovely Choubey (lead), Pinki (second), Nayanmoni Saikia (third) and Rupa Rani Tirkey (slip) beat South Africa 17-10 in the women’s fours final. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow  Today’s Top Picks [[Arivu, Dhee, and the ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ controversy explained] Arivu, Dhee, and the ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ controversy explained]( [[Explained | The dwindling fighter strength of the IAF] Explained | The dwindling fighter strength of the IAF]( [[Daily Quiz | On fantasy lands] Daily Quiz | On fantasy lands]( [[Explained | AlphaFold: A tour de force in science] Explained | AlphaFold: A tour de force in science]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](