Karnataka legal department advises fresh recruitment for KPSC 2011 posts
The state's Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation Department says the government cannot use executive powers to protect candidates after a law was declared unconstitutional.
The Karnataka Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation Department has advised that the state government cannot use its own powers to continue the appointments of 362 candidates from the 2011 KPSC recruitment, according to a report by Urban Acres.
The advice follows a Supreme Court decision that declared a 2022 law, which sought to validate the recruitment, unconstitutional. The department's four-page opinion stated that the 2022 law cannot be defended on constitutional or humanitarian grounds.
The department recommended that the state follow the remedy suggested by the Supreme Court by conducting a new recruitment process for vacant Group A and Group B posts. It suggested a one-time relaxation of the age limit under existing rules for this process.
The legal department noted that the state cannot hold a special exam only for the 2011 candidates. Instead, any new selection must be an open competitive process and cannot be restricted to the original group.
While a Criminal Investigation Department chargesheet named KPSC officials and intermediaries, it did not name any candidates. However, the department stated that the absence of criminal charges against individuals is not enough to preserve appointments from a compromised selection list.
The government may still seek a review of the judgment within 30 days or ask the court for clarification on how to implement the ruling. The department noted that the Supreme Court did not direct that the selected candidates remain in their posts until new recruitment is finished.