The Supreme Court on Thursday grilled Attorney General R Venkataramani on the appointment of Arun Goel as Election Commissioner. The apex court asked why a position lying vacant since May 15 was filled in a "tearing hurry".
The five-judge bench expressed concern over the current appointment process. "What kind of evaluation is this? Although, we are not questioning the merits of Arun Goel's credentials but the process," the bench headed by Justice KM Joseph said.
The apex court observed that the file pertaining to Goel's appointment was cleared with "lightning speed".
The bench said 1985-batch IAS officer Goel got voluntary retirement from service in a single day, his file was cleared by the Law Ministry in a single day, a panel of four names were put up before the prime minister and Goel's name got the nod from the President within 24 hours.
The apex court also reserved the judgement on pleas against the Centre making appointments to Election Commission. The bench was hearing a batch of pleas seeking a collegium-like system for the appointment of ECs and the Chief Election Commissioner.
With inputs from PTI
First Published: Nov 24, 2022 11:52 AM IST
