Keywords: public interest litigation, appointment, Arun Goel, commissioner, age
The Supreme Court turned down public interest litigation (PIL) on Friday in the case of Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India and ors that contested the nomination of Arun Goel as India’s election commissioner.
Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti’s bench relied on the fact that the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench had previously reviewed the documents related to Goel’s appointment and had declined to invalidate it.
The appointment of Goel was contested by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on the grounds that it was arbitrary and violated the institutional integrity and independence of the Election Commission of India (ECI). The case was being heard by the apex court.
The petitioner noted that the Central government’s claim that Goel’s nomination was suggested due to his age since he was the youngest of four people on a panel had recently been rejected by a Constitution Bench headed by Justice KM Joseph (now retired).
In that ruling, the Court had determined that the panel had simply been established to reject the remaining candidates due to their age.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, speaking on behalf of ADR, emphasised throughout the hearing that the appointment was arbitrary and approved during the hearing of the Constitution Bench case.
The Central government’s Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, contested the argument and claimed that the petitioner wanted “a second bite of the cherry.”
“These are busybodies. Everyone knows files in Constitutional appointments move in a day and not merely from one table to another,” Mehta argued.
The appointment may not have been cancelled earlier because Goel was not a party to the proceedings, Bhushan continued.
However, the Bench ultimately declined to consider the PIL.
On November 19, 2022, Arun Goel, a retired IAS officer from the 1985 Punjab cadre, was chosen to serve as India’s election commissioner.
Written by: Sakshi Sinha, College: KIIT School of Law, Semester: 6th an intern under Legal Vidhiya
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