PANJIM: With the Supreme Court reprimanding the Goa government for entrusting additional charge of State Election Commissioner (SEC) to a government official resulting in “mockery of the Constitution”, the Law Secretary IAS Choka Ram Garg tendered his resignation from the post of SEC.
Former Additional Chief Election Officer Narayan Navti is set to be appointed as the new full-fledged State Election Commissioner. The Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has granted approval to the appointment of Navti. The notification is expected on Monday.
Post this the election schedule for the five municipalities –Margao, Mapusa, Mormugao, Quepem and Sanguem – will be prepared and announced.
Sources informed Herald that Garg had submitted his resignation from the post of Election Commissioner on Friday, March 12, hours after the Supreme Court judgment on municipal ward reservation.
“The resignation has been sent to the government,” sources said adding governor has granted consent to Navti’s appointment as new SEC.
Sources further said that the election schedule has to be announced before the end of this month, since the entire process has to be completed by April 30, as per the Apex Court verdict.’
The Supreme Court in its judgment passed on March 12 had said that the fact that the SEC in Goa was none other than its law secretary is the “most disturbing feature of the case”.
“The SEC has to be a person who is independent of the State Government as he is an important constitutional functionary who is to oversee the entire election process in the State qua panchayats and municipalities,” a bench of Justices Rohinton Nariman, B R Gavai and Hrishikesh Roy observed.
They said that the SEC had been equated with a High Court judge. “Giving an additional charge of such an important and independent constitutional office to an officer who is directly under the control of the State Government is, in our view, a mockery of the constitutional mandate,” the judges wrote, directing the Goa government to appoint an independent person as SEC at the earliest.
The top court also directed all State Election Commissioners across the country who currently hold additional charge, to step down immediately, stating that a government employee or bureaucrat cannot be appointed as Election Commissioner.
