Goel's tenure was till December 5, 2027, and he would have become Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) after incumbent Rajiv Kumar retired in February next year.
His tenure was till December 5, 2027, and he would have become Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) after incumbent Rajiv Kumar retired in February next year.
The bench refused to entertain the plea filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms and dismissed it.
The bench said the petition has relied on a March 2 verdict of the apex court which had ruled that the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and ECs will be done by the President on the recommendation of a committee, comprising the prime minister, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and the CJI, to maintain the "purity of election".
The bench is hearing a batch of pleas seeking a collegium-like system for the appointment of ECs and the Chief Election Commissioner.
The top court reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking a collegium-like system for the appointment of ECs and the Chief Election Commissioner and asked the parties to file written submission in five days.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said it was mystified as to how bureaucrat Arun Goel applied for voluntary retirement on November 18 last year if he was not aware about the proposal to appoint him as an election commissioner.
The extent of doubts over the fairness of this election can be assessed by juxtaposing two figures: Total votes polled by the two principal parties and the number of people who were disallowed from voting this time, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
There has been speculation that Goel quit due to differences with Kumar.
Taking potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party, some opposition leaders also wondered if Goel resigned to contest the Lok Sabha polls on its ticket like former Calcutta high court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
The Haryana government has approved expenditure of 1,028 crore for various projects across multiple departments, including police housing, public works, and irrigation, aiming to enhance infrastructure and public services in the state.
The second edition of The Hollywood Reporter India's Women in Entertainment Power List brought together many influential women from across the film industry.
Mining major Vedanta's consolidated net profit plunged 58.69 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1,798 crore in the second quarter of 2025-26 (Q2FY26), dragged down by exceptional losses booked during the period under review. The company had reported a net exceptional gain of Rs 1,160 crore in Q2FY25.
Two vacancies of election commissioners have arisen following the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement.
Newly appointed election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumed charge on Friday.
The government has set up a search committee under Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to shortlist names for the appointment of the next chief election commissioner, sources said on Monday, citing an order.
A selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet early next week to finalise the name of the next chief election commissioner. The panel will recommend a name from among the candidates shortlisted by a search committee. The president will then appoint the next CEC based on the recommendation. The panel comprises the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister.
'The Election Commission cannot be regulated by the government.'
In seniority in the BJP leadership team, V K Malhotra, who passed into the ages this week, was next only to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani and Nanaji Deshmukh, notes Sudhir Bisht.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to produce before it the file related to the appointment of Election Commissioner Arun Goel, who was appointed on November 19.
The Indian Ministry of Health has banned all forms of tobacco and alcohol promotions, including surrogate advertisements, during the IPL.
The NGO challenges the validity of a provision of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.
Ahead of the meeting of the prime minister-chaired high powered panel for selection of Election Commissioners, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has written to the Law Ministry seeking details of short-listed candidates along with their 'dossiers'.
'Revolving credit without full repayment causes interest to outpace repayment capacity, and leads to financial distress.'
A vacancy will arise in the three-member poll panel when Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey demits office on February 14.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph is likely to give its verdict.
Sources said the selection committee could meet either on March 13 or 14 depending on the convenience of the members and the appointments are likely to be made by March 15.
Pandey's retirement comes days before the Election Commission is to announce the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls.
'The collegium system will remove any such doubts from the minds of people and the political parties.'
Two vacancies of election commissioners came about following the resignation of Arun Goel on Friday and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement on February 14.
The opposition parties and some former CECs had opposed the move, saying it will go against the independence of the institution.
The bench asked senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Congress leader Jaya Thakur, who sought a stay on the new law, to serve a copy of the petition to the Centre's counsel.
Addressing reporters at his residence soon after the meeting ended, Chowdhury said six names came up before the panel for the selection of the two ECs and the names of Sandhu and Kumar were finalised by a majority of members of the high-powered panel.
The system of 'selecting' an election commissioner, which is before the Supreme Court, must be institutionalised.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said "surprisingly" the prime minister is grounded in New Delhi on Wednesday and not travelling around the country for new "inaugurations", for rebranding, or for claiming credit for past work.
Suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad said Rio Olympics Organising Committee's warning that it will cancel the accreditation of Sport Minister Vijay Goel over his alleged violation of protocols is the "biggest insult" to the nation and had brought it a "bad name". Azad, a former international cricketer, also rejected the Ministry's claim that it was a case of misunderstanding, saying breaking protocols is a way of life for Indian politicians and there is no smoke without fire.
This election will be remembered for being the first election where the Election Commission failed to take action on gross violations involving the ruling party that repeatedly used religion, communal slurs, lies and undocumented allegations, observes Ramesh Menon.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih told the petitioners, who pointed out that a meeting for the selection of ECs was pre-poned, to file a separate application pointing out the fact.
In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the Union law ministry rejected the petitioner's claim that the two election commissioners were hastily appointed on March 14 to "pre-empt" the orders of the top court the next day, when the matters challenging the 2023 law were listed for hearing on interim relief.
The finance minister could not take the oath earlier in Parliament due to his ill-health.
