NGO moves top court against appointment of Goel as Election Commissioner

An NGO has approached the Supreme Court, challenging the appointment of Arun Goel as Election Commissioner claiming it is “arbitrary and violative of institutional integrity and independence of Election Commission”.

The plea, filed by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), said a constitution bench of the SC, which had on March 2 ruled that the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners be appointed by a panel comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and Chief Justice of India, had perused the files regarding Goel’s appointment and it showed “glaring arbitrariness”.

Alleging violation of norms in the selection, the NGO contended that the Union of India and Goel “have through their acts of omissions and commission participated in a carefully orchestrated ‘selection procedure for their own benefits”.

ADR contended that “the issue is not… Goel’s personal qualifications” but “the independence and credibility of the Election Commission, which has been hit by the manner in which… Goel came to be appointed”.