The tenures of Directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can now be up to a maximum of five years from the present two years, according to two ordinances brought in by the government on Sunday. The CBI and ED directors enjoy a fixed tenure of two years from the date of their appointment in the wake of the directives of the Supreme Court in the famous Vineet Narain case.

The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, for the extension of ED chief’s tenure, comes barely three days ahead of the retirement of incumbent director Sanjay Kumar Mishra, a 1984-batch IRS officer. The government had given him an extension of one year in 2020 after the completion of his fixed term. The Supreme Court had heard the matter this year, and told the government not to give any further extension to Mishra beyond November 17.