The Supreme Court has struck down a 2022 Karnataka law that sought to validate the selection and appointment of 362 gazetted probationers recruited through the 2011 Karnataka Public Service Commission process, leaving the status of the appointments uncertain.
A bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Vinod Chandran delivered the judgment on Thursday while hearing a special leave petition filed by Srinivasa T. and others. The petitioners had challenged a Karnataka High Court order that upheld the legislation brought in by the state government.
The recruitment process began in November 2011, when the KPSC issued a notification to fill 362 Group A and Group B gazetted probationer posts. After examinations were conducted and a provisional selection list was published, allegations of irregularities emerged in the recruitment process.
An applicant complained about the alleged irregularities to the then Advocate General. On the basis of the recommendation that followed, the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms filed a complaint at the Vidhana Soudha police station. The Karnataka government, led by Siddaramaiah at the time, transferred the investigation to the Criminal Investigation Department on June 27, 2014.
The government subsequently cancelled the recruitment process on the basis of an interim CID investigation report. Some candidates challenged the cancellation before the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal. The tribunal ruled in favour of the candidates and directed the government to issue appointment orders to those selected. The Karnataka High Court later overturned the tribunal’s order, and the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s decision.
Despite the earlier court rulings, the status of the 362 candidates remained unresolved. In 2022, the Karnataka government enacted the Karnataka Civil Services (Validation of Selection and Appointment of Gazetted Probationers of the 2011 Batch) Act. The legislation sought to give legal validity to the selection and appointments of the candidates.
Srinivasa and other petitioners challenged the validity of the law before the Karnataka High Court. After the High Court dismissed the challenge, they approached the Supreme Court through a special leave petition. The Supreme Court has now set aside the legislation.
The ruling places the 362 appointments at the centre of a renewed legal and administrative question. The supplied report does not specify the immediate administrative directions issued after the judgment, including the status of serving officers or the next steps for the state government and the KPSC. Those actions will determine how the judgment is implemented.
