Sushil Chandra appointed new Election Commissioner

The President has appointed Sushil Chandra as the new Election Commissioner. Sushil Chandra’s appointment fills the vacancy caused after the retirement of O.P. Rawat, as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). Sushil Chandra will join other two members of the Commission, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora and Election Commissioner (EC) Ashok Lavasa. The appointment was made under the clause (2) of Article 324 of the constitution.

Clause (2) of Article 324

The Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner and such number of other Election Commissioners, if any, as the President may from time to time fix. The appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners shall, subject to the provisions of any law made in that behalf by Parliament be made by the President.
The President appoints the Election Commissioner based on the recommendations of the cabinet under the Transaction of Business Rules of 1961.

Sushil Chandra

Sushil Chandra is currently serving as the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). He is the second Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer to be appointed to the Commission after T.S. Krishnamurthy, who went on to become the CEC in 2004.
Sushil Chandra is a B. Tech from IIT Roorkee and who also holds a law degree. He joined the Revenue Service in 1980. He has served as Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) International Taxation in Delhi, Director of Investigation, Mumbai and Director General Investigation, Gujarat.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2019