Sanjay Mishra, The Man Who Investigated Many VIPs

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared as illegal the third extension given to Enforcement Directorate chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra, which was widely challenged, and said he cannot continue beyond July 31. The move has brought into focus the life and work of an officer who became central to what the Narendra Modi government called its crackdown on corruption.

A 1984-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer from Uttar Pradesh, SK Mishra, 63, was first appointed as the director of the Enforcement Directorate for a stipulated period of two years in 2018, but he was given three extensions by the government. In fact, the government last year brought an ordinance that said the term of directors of probe agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI could be extended by up to three years after the mandated term of two years.

Mr Mishra, during his tenure of five years till now, tightened scrutiny on many former ministers and powerful leaders, with the probe agency registering 4,000 cases, and conducting 3,000 searches.

It was under Mr Mishra as chief that the ED investigated politicians like former finance minister P Chidambaram, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, another minister Nawab Malik, National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Tamil Nadu's powerful minister Senthil Balaji, and former Trinamool Congress minister Partha Chatterjee among others.

While the ED's actions met strong resistance from the opposition, which termed it harassment and misuse of power, the courts did not strike down the action taken under Mr Mishra or find fault with them.

The agency's actions implicitly boosted support for the government and made good on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of "Na Khaoonga, na khane doonga" (I won't allow corruption). But the organisation also became a focal point of the opposition's charge of the Centre misusing its power.

On Mr Mishra's watch, the Enforcement Directorate roped in experts, trained professionals and even handled a multitude of high-profile cases - something only the CBI was known to do before.

Those who have worked with him describe Mr Mishra as someone forgets nothing about any case he is handling, focuses on the smallest of details, and expects his team to always be on its toes. He is seen as a man with a keen interest in understanding the nexus of politics and business, and someone who understands taxation, matters related to economics and foreign currency.

"He goes after the corrupt with a thoroughly professional approach, addressing all loopholes in procedures, as any seasoned bureaucrat should. He doesn't 'network' with politicians or leave any scope of an 'understanding', which is why he has been here all these years. He has a strong memory, so it helps to get things moving fast," said an official on the condition of anonymity.

Mr Mishra belongs to a middle-class family based in Uttar Pradesh. He was always interested in science research and has a degree in biochemistry from the Lucknow University. As the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, he investigated several high-level cases in the Income Tax department before he became the chief of the Enforcement Directorate. His investigation into Young India, a Gandhi family-run organisation that owns the National Herald newspaper, brought him into the spotlight, after which he took over as ED chief.

In fact, it was under Mr. Mishra's tenure that the ED launched a probe against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's husband Robert Vadra. Rahul Gandhi spent close to 42 hours over five days and Sonia Gandhi, 13 hours over three days, at the ED office, answering questions in the National Herald case.

Mr Mishra's tenure also saw the strict implementation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act brought by the Modi Government in 2018, and the civil sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

To the many petitions filed by political leaders challenging the extension given to Mr Mishra, the Finance Ministry told the court that a new person might take time to acclimatise to the working of the new organisation. The government defended its move to award multiple extensions to Mr Mishra saying it was done in public interest as various cases were at a crucial juncture and for their proper and expeditious disposal, it was important to ensure the continuity of officers.

In Mr Mishra's tenure, the agency also deported the VVIP choppers case accused and the alleged middlemen Christian Michel and Rajiv Saxena.