Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Oct 30: In a major setback to the state government, the Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a 2022 Karnataka law that sought to validate the controversial selection and appointment of 362 gazetted probationers recruited through the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) 2011 examination.
A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Vinod Chandran delivered the judgment on a special leave petition filed by Srinivasa T and others. The petitioners had challenged a Karnataka High Court order that upheld the legislation.
The ruling reopens a decade-long dispute involving allegations of large-scale irregularities, bribery, nepotism, and manipulation in the examination and evaluation process, originally exposed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The verdict is being viewed as a massive victory for the investigating agency.
The controversy dates back to November 2011, when the KPSC issued a notification to recruit 362 gazetted probationers for Group A and Group B services. Following the preliminary and main examinations, interviews were held in May 2013. However, allegations of anomalies surfaced after a candidate, Dr Mythri H P S, complained to the then advocate general.
The Siddaramaiah-led government handed over the investigation to the CID in June 2014. Based on an interim report pointing to serious irregularities, the government cancelled the recruitment process and withdrew the requisition for the posts in August 2014.
This sparked a prolonged legal battle. While the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) ruled in favour of the selected candidates in October 2016, prompting the state to initiate proceedings and issue 18 appointment orders, the Karnataka High Court set aside the tribunal's order in March 2018. The High Court upheld the government's decision to scrap the recruitment, noting that the written examination results were vitiated. The Supreme Court subsequently upheld the High Court’s decision.
To break the deadlock, the state government enacted the Karnataka Civil Services (Validation of Selection and Appointment of 2011 Batch Gazetted Probationers) Act in 2022. The law validated the selection, cancelled the earlier withdrawal orders, and directed the issuance of appointment orders. The Karnataka High Court dismissed a challenge to the law in April 2022, prompting the current petitioners to approach the apex court.
During the latest proceedings, senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing the petitioners, argued that the recruitment was heavily vitiated, pointing out that 566 candidates had secured identical marks and that critical examination records were subsequently destroyed.
The Supreme Court's decision to strike down the law raises critical questions about the limits of legislative power in reversing the consequences of judicial decisions. The final administrative implications for the 362 candidates, including those who received appointment orders under the 2022 Act, will depend on the apex court's precise operative directions and subsequent actions by the state government.