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Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Chairperson Manoj Soni has resigned due to “personal reasons,” almost five years before the end of his tenure in 2029, according to media sources.
NEW DELHI: Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) chairperson Manoj Soni has resigned due to “personal reasons,” almost five years before the end of his tenure in 2029, according to media sources. However, his resignation is reportedly not connected to the controversy involving probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who allegedly used fraudulent disability and caste certificates for her selection.
Manoj Soni joined the UPSC, a constitutional body, in 2017 and became its chairperson on May 16, 2023. The UPSC conducts the civil services examination (CSE) to recruit candidates for top government services like IAS, IPS, and IFS. Sources revealed that Soni submitted his resignation to the President about a month ago, though it is unclear if it will be accepted. Soni now wants to focus on “socio-religious activities.
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Before joining the UPSC, Soni served three terms as a vice-chancellor at two universities in Gujarat. He was vice-chancellor of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Gujarat, for two terms (August 1, 2009, to July 31, 2015), and of his alma mater, The Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda, from April 2005 to April 2008. At 40, Soni was the youngest Vice-Chancellor in India when he joined MSU.
In 2009, he was a governing body member of Charotar University of Sciences and Technology, Changa, and a founding coordinator of the Center for Excellence in Ethics in Politics and Public Administration, funded by the Gujarat government. In 2008, he served on the Justice R. J. Shah (Retd.) Fee Regulatory Committee, constituted by the Gujarat legislature to regulate fees in un-aided professional institutions.
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A renowned political science scholar specializing in international relations, Soni taught at Sardar Patel University (SPU), Vallabh Vidyanagar, from 1991 to 2016. His doctoral research, completed in 1995 under Prof. Harbans Patel, focused on the “Post-Cold War International Systemic Transition and Indo-U.S. Relations.”
The UPSC recently filed a criminal case against Puja Khedkar for “misrepresenting and falsifying facts” during the civil services examination. She has been issued a show cause notice for the cancellation of her selection and debarment from future exams. Following the UPSC’s complaint, Delhi Police registered a case against Khedkar for forgery and cheating.
