Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Navin Chawla has sadly passed away at the age of 79 after undergoing brain surgery. SY Quraishi, another former CEC, shared that he visited Chawla about ten days before his death when Chawla mentioned he would be going to the hospital. Chawla died at Apollo Hospital, and Quraishi remembered him as cheerful during their last meeting.
Chawla served as an Election Commissioner from 2005 to 2009 and was the Chief Election Commissioner from April 2009 to July 2010. His time in office was marked by controversy, especially with accusations from the opposition BJP claiming he was biased. In 2009, the then Chief Election Commissioner, N. Gopalaswami, recommended that Chawla be removed, but the government did not act on this recommendation.
Chawla was born on July 30, 1945, and studied at The Lawrence School, Sanawar, and St. Stephen’s College. He worked for many years in Delhi during his civil service career and became a Union Secretary. Chawla managed the Lok Sabha elections of 2009.
He was also known for writing a biography of Mother Teresa, first published in the UK in 1992, which became popular in many languages. As Chief Election Commissioner, he suggested changes to protect the positions of election commissioners. He also supported the idea of allowing third-gender individuals to register as voters, which is now standard practice
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