The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Joseph and Justice BV Nagarathna initially heard counsel for the petitioner, advocate Prashant Bhushan, but then proceeded to direct that the matter be listed before another bench.
The PIL by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms has challenged the appointment on the ground that it is arbitrary and violative of the institutional integrity and independence of the Election Commission of India.
The petitioner pointed out that recently, a Constitution bench headed by Justice Joseph had rejected the argument by the Central government that Goel was the youngest of the four persons on the panel prepared.
The Court in that judgment had held that the panel was so created so as to oust the remaining candidates on the ground of age.
Goel, a retired IAS officer of the 1985 Punjab cadre, was appointed as the Election Commissioner of India on November 19, 2022. A post graduate in Development Economics from Churchill College, University of Cambridge, England, he started his career as District Election Officer/Collector in Punjab’s Bhatinda in 1993.
Source: Barandbench
