Supreme Court strikes down Karnataka law that validated tainted 2011 KPSC civil service selection

The Supreme Court has struck down a 2022 Karnataka law that validated appointments from the state's 2011 recruitment of gazetted probationers, a selection that had been cancelled after allegations of corruption at the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC).

A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran delivered the judgment on Thursday, October 29, LiveLaw and Law Trend reported. The court held the Karnataka Civil Services (Validation of Selection and Appointment of 2011 Batch Gazetted Probationers) Act, 2022 unconstitutional, saying a legislature "cannot directly annul the final judgment by a subsequent legislation".

Background

The 2011 notification covered 362 Group A and Group B posts and drew more than 1.38 lakh applicants. The final list was withheld after complaints, and a state CID inquiry reported manipulation, corruption and nepotism involving KPSC officials, according to the reports. The state cancelled the selection; the Karnataka High Court upheld the cancellation and the Supreme Court declined to interfere. In 2022 the state passed the validation law, and appointments followed under it.

The court said the appointments rested only on the law and fell with it. It rejected the argument that untainted candidates could be separated from tainted ones, and declined to revive the old selection after about 15 years.

What happens now

The court directed the state to hold a fresh recruitment for the vacant posts. Candidates appointed under the law who were not found tainted, along with the appellants, will get a one-time age relaxation to apply. Those selected again will get seniority only from their new appointment, with no back wages, though earlier service will count towards pension and retirement benefits, the reports said.

According to Law Trend, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the state, told the court the law could not be supported. No statement from the Karnataka government or the affected officers was reported.