Arun Goel Election Commissioner of India resigned from the post on Saturday. His tenure was till December 2027.
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“In pursuance of clause (1) of Section 11 of The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the President is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Shri Arun Goel, Election Commissioner with effect from the 09th March, 2024,” a gazette notification by the Union Law and Justice Ministry said on Saturday.
As per clause (1) of Section 11 of the law, the Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner may, at any time, resign from office by giving it in writing to the President.
Goel’s resignation comes at a time when the three-member Commission was down to two after the retirement of Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey in February. With Goel’s resignation being accepted, the poll panel has now only Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.
Goel, a former IAS officer, took office as the Election Commissioner on November 21, 2022. His appointment as EC sparked a controversy as he was the Union Heavy Industries Secretary when he took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Services on November 18, 2022. A day later, he was appointed to the Commission.
Who is Arun Goel?
Arun Goel took over the charge of the election commissioner on November 21, 2022.
A 1985 batch IAS officer, Arun Goel previously served as the secretary in the ministry of heavy industry.
Arun Goel also served as vice-chairman, Delhi Development Authority; Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, Ministry of Labour and Employment; Joint Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
He took voluntary retirement ahead of his appointment as election commissioner in 2022. He had also served in the union culture ministry.
Arun Goel was in line to become the next chief election commissioner after Rajiv Kumar’s tenure ends in February 2025. According to the law, the election commissioner or CEC post can be held for up to six years or till attaining the age of 65.
His appointment as Election Commissioner was challenged before the Supreme Court in 2022.
In March 2023, the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court noted that not only Arun Goel was appointed in a hasty fashion by the government, but he would also have a tenure of a little over two years whereas the law stipulates a six-year tenure for ensuring the officer’s independence and stability of term.
In its judgment, the Constitution bench also ruled that election commissioners and the chief election commissioner will henceforth be chosen by a panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), and the Chief Justice of India (CJI), till Parliament passes a law on the appointments.
Subsequently, Parliament cleared the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, seeking to replace the CJI with a cabinet minister as one of the three members of the selection panel to choose the CEC and election commissioners — the other two being the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha.
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