Over the last month and a half, the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) has witnessed sparring between some of its members and the Secretary over the recruitment of head of legal cell (HLC) resulting in a stalemate. As a result, several employment notifications, including that of the gazetted probationers that thousands eagerly await, have been held up.
The matter has reached a point where the commission’s Secretary K.S. Latha Kumari has written to the government on January 25 to take steps under Article 317 of the Constitution to remove KPSC Chairman Shivashankarappa S. Sahukar, and members Vijayakumar D. Kuchanure, M.B. Heggannanavar, B.V. Geetha and Musthafa Hussain Syed Azeez. On the other, the Chairman on February 1 has written to the government to take disciplinary action against Ms. Latha Kumari, and reject nine lists of selected candidates for posts in various departments that have been “illegally published.”
Amidst the stalemate, the commission has not notified any new selection process for over 700 posts including that of 384 gazetted probationers.
The unsavoury clash, a first of its kind in the commission’s history, that has led to the current stalemate began over the appointment of head of legal cell, a contractual appointment in which a retired district judge is appointed for two years to look after the legal cases in which the commission is a party. The process began after the earlier HLC resigned on November 3, 2023. A three-member committee headed by the chairman after conducting interview, recommended a name on December 13, 2023.
However, the commission’s Secretary refused to endorse the name stating that the selection process was not transparent. She also accused that the committee “chose whom they wanted” besides seeking details of evaluation during interview and seniority list, all of which are part of the letter addressed to the Chief Secretary on January 18, 2024. Ms. Latha Kumari, in the letter, also accused the commission’s chairman of forcibly getting the earlier HLC to resign since the latter had refused to give his opinion in favour of the former to claim legal expenditure of ₹12 lakh that had been incurred in a personal case.
What followed, according to a present member, was an unprecedented move in the commission’s more than seven decades history as the chairman and six out of 10 members in the commission refusing to attend any meeting or approve any selection list till the HLC recommended by the committee is approved.
“The KPSC is a constitutional body and members are equivalent to a High Court judge. How can they formally say that they will not attend meetings, which is part of the work?. Now, efforts are being made to shunt out the Secretary,” said the member, who wished to remain anonymous.
Meanwhile, amidst the stalemate in the commission, the other four members at a meeting chaired by its senior most Ronald Fernandes on January 31 cleared nine lists of eligible candidates for 666 posts.
Objecting to this, the Chairman on February 1 urged the government to reject the list since the meeting lacked quorum. However, the member, who attended the meeting, justified it pointing out at the legal opinion was taken before the decision to approve the lists was made. With respect to the recruitment of HLC, the Chairman has said that the government had not formed rules for recruitment since it is a contract employment, and that the previous guidelines had been followed. “Transparency has been maintained. There have been no guidelines to create seniority list. The Secretary had received all the applications and she had access to ascertain seniority. The Secretary does not have a role in the selection,” the Chairman said.
