The Karnataka High Court has reconstituted the special investigation team (SIT) probing cases linked to the Karnataka Public Service Commission recruitment scam, appointing senior IPS officer R Hitendra as its head and excluding officers associated with the earlier Criminal Investigation Department investigation.
Hitendra, the additional director general of police for law and order, will replace Alok Kumar, DGP (prisons), as head of the five-member team. Senior IPS officer Soumendu Mukherjee, ADGP (administration), will replace Divya Gopinath. The other three members — Anup A Shetty, Kushal Chouksey and Kshama Mishra — will continue on the SIT.
Justice M Nagaprasanna said the changes followed consideration of names proposed by the Karnataka government, objections raised by petitioners and the need for an investigation that was demonstrably independent. The court said the reconstitution should mark the beginning of a fresh investigation that inspires confidence and remains free from institutional or external influence.
The court clarified that the purpose was not simply to replace officers but to ensure that the investigation itself was conducted with renewed independence. It directed that no officer associated with the earlier CID investigation, regardless of rank or designation, be included in the SIT’s assisting team.
The SIT will be free to select its own supporting officers and personnel, provided they have had no association with the previous CID probe. The court said the separation from the earlier investigation must be complete in letter and spirit. The state government has been directed to provide the team with the infrastructure, personnel, logistical and technical support, and other resources required to complete the investigation expeditiously, in accordance with the court’s October 29 order.
The court also ordered that members of the SIT should not be transferred out of Bengaluru from their current assignments in a manner that could hamper the investigation while it is under way, unless prior permission is obtained from the court. Justice Nagaprasanna observed that continuity of investigating officers was as important as their independence.
The directions also address the parallel investigation by the Enforcement Directorate. Taking note of the ED’s investigation following the registration of an Enforcement Case Information Report, the court said the SIT and the central agency must proceed simultaneously, independently and in cooperation, within their respective statutory jurisdictions.
The court said the investigations should complement each other in the pursuit of truth rather than become competing exercises over jurisdiction. The ED has been directed to continue placing progress reports before the court from time to time, in line with the High Court’s September 21 order.
The latest directions are to be read together with, and as a continuation of, the orders passed on September 21 and October 29. All other earlier directions remain in force.
On September 21, while allowing petitions filed by Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and others, the High Court ordered the constitution of an SIT to conduct a fresh probe and complete it within 100 days. The state government later challenged the composition of the SIT before the Supreme Court, which allowed it to suggest alternative names for Alok Kumar and Divya Gopinath within two weeks. The Supreme Court left it to the High Court to consider the objections, hear both sides and decide on the replacements.
