Two days after Election Commissioner Arun Goel tendered his resignation, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday, March 11 to restrain the Union government from using its newly-vested powers to appoint additional election officers ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
In December 2023, the Parliament passed a new law removing the Chief Justice of India from the panel to select the chief election commissioner and election commissioners.
The petition was filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, who stated that the removal of Chief Justice of India from the panel violates the principles of free and fair election. The Madhya Pradesh Mahila Congress General Secretary, in January, had filed another petition challenging the constitutionality of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 (Act), passed by the Parliament.
In a sudden and unexpected manner, Election Commissioner Arun Goel tendered his resignation on Saturday, March 9. As a result, the Election Commission is currently led solely by the Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, with no additional election commissioners in office. As per the new law, a high-level selection panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi would get the power to fill the two vacancies by March 15.
Expressing concerns over the integrity of the Election Commission of India (ECI), former IAS officer EAS Sarma had sought the immediate intervention of President Droupadi Murmu to uphold the sanctity of the electoral process. In a letter, he questioned whether the resignation of Arun Goel was due to his doubt regarding the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Also read: Was EC Arun Goel doubtful about efficacy of EVMs, asks EAS Sarma to President