Arun Goel
IAS, Punjab cadre, 1985 batch
Election Commissioner of India (21 Nov 2022 to 9 Mar 2024, resigned)
By the numbers
0 days from voluntary retirement to appointment
VRS accepted and appointment notified on 18 Nov 2022 per the SC's reading of the file; news reports date the appointment 19 Nov (gazette publication). scobserver.in
43 days before his retirement date when he took voluntary retirement
Due to retire 31 Dec 2022. scobserver.in
4 names on the panel
Other three: 1983 Andhra Pradesh, 1983 Telangana, 1985 Tamil Nadu officers, all superannuated around 2020; Goel was the youngest. scobserver.in
1 day after the Supreme Court began hearing the challenge
Hearing began 17 Nov 2022; appointment 18 Nov 2022. scobserver.in
The rise, step by step
Each step is solid where two sources carry it, a hairline where one does.
One report
Joins IAS, Punjab cadre.
One report
Secretary, Ministry of Culture.
One report
Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries.
One report
Election Commissioner post falls vacant when Rajiv Kumar becomes CEC; it stays vacant for six months.
One report
Supreme Court Constitution Bench begins hearing the petitions on how Election Commissioners are appointed, with an interim application pending for an independent appointment process.
One report
Per the government file the SC examined: in one day, the Law Ministry draws a four-name panel, the Law Minister sends it on, the PM recommends Goel, his voluntary retirement application is accepted with the three-month notice waived, and his appointment is notified.
One report
Takes charge as Election Commissioner.
One report
Date on which he would otherwise have superannuated.
Documented
Resignation accepted with effect from 9 Mar 2024 (gazette notification S.O. 1196(E)). On 16 Mar 2024 CEC Rajiv Kumar said he had resigned for "personal reasons".
What courts and officials said
Questioned the "lightning speed" of the appointment and asked whether there was any "tearing urgency". The bench said: "What kind of evaluation is this? We are not questioning merits of EC Arun Goel's credentials but the process of his appointment." (oral remarks at hearing, as reported)
"We are a little mystified as to how the officer had applied for voluntary retirement on 18.11.2022, if he was not in the know about the proposal to appoint him." Also: the procedure "throws up certain pertinent questions". The court did not set the appointment aside; it ordered that, until Parliament legislates, CEC and ECs be chosen by a committee of the PM, the Leader of Opposition and the CJI.
Declined to issue notice and dismissed ADR's petition: "We find that the Constitution Bench did not pass any effective order disturbing the appointment, though the relevant files and all other factors have been taken into consideration."
The other side
- Attorney General R. Venkataramani for the Union (as recorded in Anoop Baranwal)
- The appointment was made from a panel of officers drawn from the database of serving and retired Secretaries; asked why officers who could serve the full six-year term were not sought, he submitted 'there is a dearth of such Officers'. scobserver.in
- Petitioner's counsel Prashant Bhushan
- Said there were 160 officers of the 1985 batch, some younger than Goel. scobserver.in
- CEC Rajiv Kumar (Mar 2024)
- Goel had resigned for 'personal reasons'. timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Documents
Judgment Anoop Baranwal v Union of India, WP(C) 104/2015 (Constitution Bench), section AA 'The appointment of Shri Arun Goel: a trigger or a mere aside?', Mar 2023
Not coming as a surprise, on the same day, his appointment as Election Commissioner was also notified.
Order Association for Democratic Reforms v Union of India (dismissal), Aug 2023
We find that the Constitution Bench did not pass any effective order disturbing the appointment, though the relevant files and all other factors have been taken into consideration.
Order Gazette notification: acceptance of Arun Goel's resignation, Mar 2024
the President is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Shri Arun Goel, Election Commissioner with effect from the 09th March, 2024.
Sources
These are documented facts placed side by side. Nothing here asserts or implies wrongdoing by any officer. Acquittals, dismissed petitions and clean chits are recorded alongside adverse findings. Every source was opened and checked on Oct 2026.
Photo: Election Commission of India, GODL-India