Sushil Chandra Appointed as new Election Commissioner

President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Sushil Chandra as the new Election Commissioner.

Details:

• 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.

About 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.

Who is 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 as 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.

Question:

Q. Who has President Ram Nath Kovind appointed as the new Election Commissioner?
a. Sunil Chandra
b. Rajeev Chandra
c. Sushil Chandra
d. Rajendra Chandra