"Why Only Retired Officers?": Top Court On Choice Of Election Commissioner
NDTV
A five-judge Constitution bench wondered was the government not closing the doors on meritorious younger candidates by appointing retired bureaucrats
The list of bureaucrats the Union Law Ministry recommended to the Prime Minister for picking an Election Commissioner (EC) did not have the name of even one person who could complete the stipulated six-year tenure at the poll panel, the Supreme Court said today.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph wondered was the government not closing the doors on meritorious younger candidates by appointing only retired bureaucrats.
On Wednesday, Arun Goel's appointment as an EC came under scrutiny by the top court, which sought from the Centre the original records pertaining to his appointment for perusal, saying it wanted to know whether there was any "hanky panky".
On November 19, Goel, a Punjab cadre IAS officer, was appointed as Election Commissioner.