NEW DELHI — UPSC Chairman Manoj Soni has resigned due to personal reasons before his term ends in May 2029, official sources said on Saturday.

His resignation is “in no way connected with the controversies and allegations surrounding the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) after the issue of IAS probationary officer Puja Khedkar came to light,” the statement said.

“The UPSC chairman submitted his resignation on personal grounds more than two weeks ago. It is yet to be accepted,” a source said.

Eminent educationist Soni, 59, took over as member of the Commission on June 28, 2017. He took oath as Chairman of the UPSC on May 16, 2023 and his term expired on May 15, 2029.

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

They said Soni now wants to spend more time on ‘socio-religious activities’.

The development comes as the UPSC on Friday announced that it has filed a criminal case against Khedkar for forging her identity to fraudulently evade the civil services examination, despite not having the required qualifications. Steps have also been taken to debar her from future selections.

Ever since Khedkar’s case of abuse of power and privilege came to light, social media has been abuzz with allegations and counter-allegations about the use of fake certificates by serving officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

Social media users have shared names, photographs and other details of several IAS and IPS officers, alleging that they used fake certificates to claim benefits available to people belonging to the Other Backward Class (non-creamy) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

Before being appointed to the UPSC, Soni served as Vice Chancellor for three terms.

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

When Soni joined MSU, she was the youngest-ever Vice Chancellor in India.

Soni, a political scientist with a specialisation in international relations, taught international relations at Sardar Patel University (SPU) in Vallabh Vidyanagar between 1991 and 2016, except for the period when he was vice-chancellor of the two universities.

Soni has received a number of recognitions and awards and has a large number of publications to his name.

The UPSC is headed by a chairman and can have a maximum of ten members. Currently, there are seven members in the UPSC, three less than the permissible strength. — (PTI)