Navin Chawla
Navin Chawla | |
|---|---|
Chawla in 2006 | |
| 16th Chief Election Commissioner of India | |
| In office 21 April 2009 – 29 July 2010 | |
| President | Pratibha Patil |
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | N. Gopalaswami |
| Succeeded by | S. Y. Quraishi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 July 1945 New Delhi, British India |
| Died | 1 February 2025 (aged 79) New Delhi, India |
| Alma mater | University of Delhi University of London |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
Navin Chawla (30 July 1945 – 1 February 2025) was an Indian civil servant and writer, who served as 16th Chief Election Commissioner of India. Four phases (out of five) of the Indian general election to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, were executed under his supervision in April and May 2009.
Chawla is best known for his biography of Mother Teresa and for conducting the 2009 general elections, despite concerns about his leanings towards the Congress Party. Action was taken against alleged malpractice by Congress governments in Rajasthan, Assam and Andhra Pradesh and the Congress-Allied government in Tamil Nadu. According to his family, Chawla was deeply influenced by Mother Teresa and decided not to resign from the civil service in 1997 in accordance with her advice.