The Supreme Court on Monday forced the Centre to roll back its order appointing Enforcement Director Karnal Singh for a period of ten months when the law provides for a mandatory term of two years.

The Bench of Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice NV Ramana found the Centre to be on the wrong side of the law in issuing the appointment order of Singh on October 27, 2016. The appointment gave Singh a tenure till August 31, 2017, the effective date of his retirement.

A PIl filed by one Uday Babu Khalwadekar pointed out fault with the appointment order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). It was submitted by the petitioner’s lawyer senior advocate Harish Salve that the order was contrary to Section 25(d) of Central Vigilance Commission Act 2003. The said provision mandates a two-year tenure for the Director, Enforcement Directorate.

The petitioner further argued that the ED handles an important task of probing money laundering cases which involve huge stakes and require monitoring over months and years. It is for this reason, ED Director must be assured of a secure tenure.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi informed the bench that the Government was open to issuing a fresh appointment order in line with the provision of Section 25 of CVC Act. However, he justified the present appointment as being in line with Fundamental Rule 56 of the Services Rules. The bench put its foot down that when a law was clear that Director must enjoy a two-year tenure, the Centre cannot rely on a Rule to defeat the purpose of the Act.

“We are of the view that a statutory rule cannot override a legislative enactment and that Section 25 of CVC Act will have overriding effect on any other law in force,” the bench said. The Court allowed Centre to issue a fresh appointment order within a week.