New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS): The Centre has appointed Rahul Navin (57) presently serving as a Special Director in the Enforcement Directorate (ED), as full-time director of the financial probe agency for a tenure of two years, said a government order issued on Wednesday.

The order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training said, "The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Rahul Navin, IRS (IT:93074), Special Director, ED, as Director of Enforcement in the Directorate of Enforcement for a period of two years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or until further orders, whichever is earlier."

A 1993-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, Navin was appointed the acting chief of the Enforcement Directorate in September last year after the completion of incumbent chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra's tenure. The appointment came after the Supreme Court held the repeated extensions to Sanjay Mishra as the Director of the probe agency ‘illegal’.

Sanjay Mishra was first appointed Interim Director of the ED for three months in October 2018 before he was made the full-time chief in November 2018 for a two-year fixed tenure.

Following procedure, Mishra's tenure was coming to an end in 2020, when the Union government extended it with retrospective effect, making it a three-year tenure against the initial two years.

However, by this time Mishra had attained superannuation in the interregnum.

The move was challenged in the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2021 that there should be no any further extension Mishra's tenure, which prompted the Centre to bring in an Ordinance for his continuation in the post.

Navin had joined the financial probe agency as a Special Director in November 2019.

During his tenure as the acting chief, ED made some high-profile arrests, including that of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in separate money laundering cases.