A plea has been filed in Supreme Court to restrain the Centre from appointing the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners after Arun Goel’s resignation.
New Delhi: Days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Dates, one of the Election Commissioners, Arun Goel resigned from his post all of a sudden. Arun Goel’s resignation now leaves two empty places in the Election Commission of India with only Rajiv Kumar in his seat, as the Chief Election Commissioner. Amid reports of PM Modi deciding the new Election Commissioners in a meeting on March 15, 2024, a plea has been filed in the Supreme Court of India, seeking restrain on the authority of the Centre to appoint the top officials of the Election Commission of India (ECI). Check details…
Centre Should Not Appoint CEC, Election Commissioners: Plea In SC
As mentioned earlier, a plea has been filed in the Supreme Court to restrain the government from appointing Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners as per Sections 7 and 8 of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and terms of Office Act 2023. Sections 7 and 8 lay down the procedure for the appointment of ECI members.
A plea filed in the Supreme Court to restrain the government from appointing Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners as per Sections 7 and 8 of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and terms of… pic.twitter.com/n3Iau5yu5t
— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2024
The plea has also sought direction to appoint member of Election Commission as per Supreme Court judgment which had directed the constitution of a committee consisting of the CJI, the PM, and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha for appointment.
Arun Goel Resigns, What Now?
The Election Commission of India (ECI) consists of three members out of which, one was already vacant; now, after Arun Goel’s resignation, only Rajiv Kumar remains on the poll panel. The next step will be appointment of a new Election Commissioner for which a search committee will be constituted; it will be led by the Law Minister and will include two Union Secretaries.
Five names will be shortlisted by the search committee and then the Selection Committee will come into place; this will be led by the Prime Minister and will include a PM-nominated Union Cabinet Minister and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The Selection Committee will now select their final candidate and then that candidate will be formally appointed by the President of India.
About Arun Goel
Former Election Commissioner of India, Arun Goel is a retired IAS officer from Punjab Cadre of the 1985-batch; he became a part of the Election Commission of India in November, 2022. Born in Patiala, Arun Goel did his MSc in Mathematics, post graduation from Churchill College, University of Cambridge in England in the subject Economics and was then trained at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA.
(Inputs from ANI)
