A view of the High Court of Karnataka.
The High Court of Karnataka has directed the State government to file its response on a petition seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the allegations of illegalities in the Karnataka State Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitments to posts of Group A and B Gazetted Probationers and allegations against Shivashankar S. Sahukar, suspended chairperson.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order on the petition filed by MLA Basanagouda R. Patil Yatnal and All Karnataka State Students’ Association, Bengaluru.
Transfer sought
The petitioners have also sought transfer of the First Information Report (FIR), registered on July 10 based on a complaint by the KPSC, against Suma S. Sahukar, daughter of Mr. Sahukar, for submitting a caste certificate declaring “false” family income while applying for recruitment to the post of Industrial Extension Officer, a Group ‘C’ post.
It has been alleged that Ms. Suma’s income certificate had showed that annual income of her family was only ₹40,000 when Mr. Sahukar, who was initially appointed as a member of KPSC in September, 2019, and later appointed as chairman in April, 2021, was drawing a basic salary of more than ₹2 lakh per month plus allowances.
Meanwhile, the court gave liberty to them to move the court if need be or any attempt was made by the State to constitute and transfer the FIR to an SIT during the pendency of the petition.
‘An eye-wash’
It was contended on behalf of the petitioners that the FIR “is nothing but an exercise in optics — an eye wash intended to create an illusion of institutional responsiveness while leaving the real allegations untouched.”
It was pointed out in the petition, filed through advocate Girish Bharadwaj, that the State police had merely given a preliminary enquiry acknowledgement on the complaints lodged by the association on July 3 against the two members of the KPSC on the allegation of corruption and on selection of Mr. Sahukar’s daughters instead of registering a FIR.
Therefore, it was argued on behalf of the petitioners that investigation deserves to be wrested from the hands of the State machinery and entrusted to the CBI, particularly having regard to the chequered history of controversies that have, from time to time, engulfed the KPSC.
“Nothing can be more disquieting, if the allegations ultimately withstand scrutiny, than the projection of such an abysmally low income by the head of an independent constitutional institution. Such an assertion, on its face, does not merely invite disbelief; it raises grave questions touching upon the transparency, credibility and institutional purity of the recruitment process itself,” the Court observed.
While pointing out that “constitutional institutions derive their legitimacy not merely from the text of the constitution but from the unwavering public confidence that they inspire,”, the Court said that “any allegation that casts a shadow upon that confidence warrants examination with the seriousness it deserves.
Published – July 22, 2026 12:46 am IST
