The Supreme Court has warned that it may strike down Karnataka’s 2022 law validating the appointment of 362 candidates selected through the Karnataka Public Service Commission’s 2011 gazetted probationers recruitment process. The bench has reserved its judgment after directing the petitioners and the state government to submit detailed affidavits by October 26.
A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Vinod Chandran was hearing a batch of special leave petitions filed by Srinivasa T. and others challenging a Karnataka High Court order that upheld the legislation. The case concerns the Karnataka Civil Services (Validation of Selection and Appointment of Gazetted Probationers of the 2011 Batch) Act, 2022.
The bench permitted applicants seeking to be impleaded or allowed to intervene in the proceedings to submit brief notes on the pending petitions. It also directed the existing petitioners and the state government to place detailed information before the court by October 26.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioners, told the court that the recruitment process was affected by widespread irregularities. He alleged that 566 candidates had been awarded identical marks and that examination records had been destroyed, causing prejudice to several applicants. The High Court had earlier cancelled the recruitment process, according to the arguments reported in the case.
The KPSC had issued a notification in November 2011 for filling 362 posts and later conducted the examinations before publishing a provisional selection list. Soon after the list was released, a candidate wrote to the then Advocate General alleging irregularities in the recruitment process. Acting on the Advocate General’s recommendation, the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms filed a complaint at the Vidhana Soudha police station.
On June 27, 2014, the then Congress government led by Siddaramaiah handed the investigation to the Criminal Investigation Department. The CID subsequently submitted an interim report, following which the government withdrew the recruitment notification. Some candidates challenged that decision before the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal, which directed the government to issue appointment orders to all selected candidates. The High Court later set aside the tribunal’s order, and the Supreme Court upheld that decision, as reported by Prajavani.
The dispute continued for years, leaving the selection list in legal uncertainty amid allegations of malpractice and corruption. In 2022, the Karnataka government enacted the validation law to give statutory effect to the appointments despite the earlier litigation and findings concerning the recruitment process.
The Supreme Court’s latest proceedings place that legislative intervention at the centre of the dispute. The immediate question is whether the state could use a law to validate appointments arising from a recruitment process previously struck down by the courts. The court has not yet delivered its judgment. The next recorded milestone is the submission of detailed affidavits and intervention notes by October 26.
