UPSC chairman Manoj Soni resigns amid Puja Khedkar row

New Delhi: UPSC chairman Manoj Soni has resigned citing personal reasons before the expiry of his tenure in May 2029, official sources said on Saturday. His resignation is "not in any way connected to controversies and allegations surrounding the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) after probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar issue came to the fore," they said.

"The UPSC chairman had tendered his resignation citing personal reasons over a fortnight back. It is yet to be accepted," a source said.

Soni, 59, took over as a member of the Commission on June 28, 2017. He took oath as the UPSC chairman on May 16, 2023 and his term was to end on May 15, 2029.

Sources said Soni was not keen on becoming the UPSC chairman and had requested to be relieved. However, his request was not accepted then, the sources said.

They said Soni has now desired to devote more time to "socio-religious activities."

The development assumes significance as the UPSC on Friday said it has lodged a criminal case against Khedkar for faking her identity to fraudulently avail attempts in the civil services examination beyond eligibility, and taken steps to debar her from future selections.

Since Khedkar's case of misusing power and privileges came to fore, social media is abuzz with claims and counter-claims on use of fake certificates by serving Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, among others.

Social media users have shared names, pictures and other details of a few IAS and IPS officers, claiming they used bogus certificates to claim benefits available for those belonging to Other Backward Class (non-creamy layer) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

Prior to his appointment in the UPSC, Soni had served three terms as Vice-Chancellor.

These include two consecutive terms from August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2015 as VC of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University (BAOU), Gujarat; and one term as VC of The Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda from April 2005 to April 2008.

At the time of joining the MSU, Soni was the youngest ever Vice-Chancellor in India.

A scholar of political science with specialisation in international relations, Soni taught international relations at Sardar Patel University (SPU), Vallabh Vidyanagar between 1991 and 2016, except for the period when he served as Vice-Chancellor of the two universities.

Soni has earned a number of recognitions and awards and has significant number of publications to his credit.

The UPSC is headed by a chairman and can have a maximum of ten members. At present, there are seven members in the UPSC, three less than its sanctioned strength