The Karnataka High Court on Monday ordered a court‑monitored investigation into alleged irregularities in the Karnataka State Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment processes. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted, headed by senior IPS officer and Director‑General of Police Alok Kumar. The court gave the SIT 100 days to complete its inquiry and submit a final report, and required a progress report every 30 days.
The order was passed on petitions filed by Basanagouda R. Patil Yatnal, MLA and head of the All Karnataka State Students’ Association, and by Manjunath. The petitioners sought a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into two matters: the appointment of the daughter of the suspended KPSC chairperson Shivashankar S. Sahukar to the post of Industrial Extension Officer, and alleged irregularities in the selection of 400 veterinary officer posts. The court noted that continuing the investigation with the Criminal Investigation Department or the jurisdictional police was inappropriate, but it was not convinced that entrusting the probe solely to the CBI was the only option.
In addition to Alok Kumar, the court named IPS officers Divya V. Gopinath, Anoop A. Shetty, Kushal Choksey and Kshama Mishra as members of the SIT. It directed the state government to issue a notification declaring the SIT a police station for investigative purposes. The court stressed that the investigation must be independent, impartial and free from influence, and that the SIT could pursue any evidence that emerges, employing forensic, cyber, financial or other specialised assistance. Cooperation with the Enforcement Directorate, which has taken up a related probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, was also mandated.
The court traced the KPSC’s troubled recruitment history back to 1998, citing recurring allegations of nepotism, favoritism, fraud, tampering of OMR sheets and even pre‑written answers for candidates. It warned that such repeated malpractices erode merit, breed cynicism among aspirants and undermine the principle of equal opportunity that underpins public service recruitment.
