Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): In a significant development, the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday appointed Braj Raj Sharma, retired IAS officer, as the State Election Commissioner. An order has been issued to this effect by the J&K administration led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. According to the order, Sharma, 1984 batch IAS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, has been appointed as the new State Election Commissioner of Jammu and Kashmir in exercise of the powers conferred by proviso to sub-section (3) of section 36 of the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989.
The order reads that Sharma shall hold the position of State Election Commissioner till he attains the age of 65 years. “The appointment of State Election Commissioner shall take effect from the date he assumes the charge. The terms and conditions of his appointment shall be notified by the Government subsequently,” added the order.
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Pertinently, Sharma also served as the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary from the year 2015 to 2017. In Oct. 2019, Sharma was appointed as the chairman of the Staff Selection Commission (SSC). He was later re-employed by the Centre for two years after his superannuation on Apr. 30, 2020. In May, 2020, Sharma was appointed as the Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) by the then Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu led union territory administration.
The appointment had come days after Sharma asked the government to relieve him from the post of chairman Staff Selection Commission within a month of getting two-year extension. Sharma had sent a request to the Department of Personnel & Training asking to be relieved from the post of chairman SSC, a Department of Personnel Training Ministry statement had said at the time.
