UPSC Chairperson Manoj Soni quits 5 years before completion of tenure

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Chairperson Manoj Soni has resigned due to “personal reasons”, almost five years before his tenure ends in 2029, sources told The Hindu .

Mr. Soni, who joined the commission as a member in 2017, was sworn in as the Chairperson on May 16, 2023.

“He resigned almost a month back,” a top source told The Hindu . The source added there was no clarity if the resignation would be accepted and he would be relieved.

The source also clarified that the resignation was not linked to the controversy regarding UPSC candidates securing employment by presenting fake certificates.

Mr. Soni is learnt to have submitted his resignation to the President of India. However, the government is yet to announce the name of the new Chairperson.

According to sources, he wants to devote more time to Anoopam Mission, a branch of Swaminarayan Sect in Gujarat. He became a monk, or nishkam karmayogi (selfless worker), in the Mission after receiving diksha, or initiation, in 2020.

Mr. Soni is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had picked him as the Vice-Chancellor of M.S. University in Vadodara in 2005 when he was 40 years old, making him the youngest Vice-Chancellor in the country.

Prior to his appointment to the UPSC in June 2017, Mr. Soni had served three terms as Vice-Chancellor in two universities in his home State of Gujarat.

Not linked to Puja issue

Sources added that the resignation was not linked to the controversy regarding trainee Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar, who allegedly forged identity papers and presented a disability certificate to get into the service.

After Ms. Khedkar’s case surfaced, social media was abuzz with several cases of candidates, presently in service, who allegedly forged documents to get benefits reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the Other Backward Classes, the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD). The cases raise questions about the sanctity of the UPSC’s exam and selection processes.

The UPSC is a constitutional body as mandated under Article 315-323 Part XIV Chapter II of the Constitution of India. The Commission conducts several examinations on behalf of the Union government.

It also conducts Civil Services Examinations every year and recommends candidates for appointment to the IAS, the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), and the Central Services - Group A and Group B.