Karnataka High Court sets up SIT headed by DGP Alok Kumar to probe KPSC irregularities

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A view of High Court of Karnataka. | Photo Credit: SREENIVASA MURTHY V

The Karnataka High Court on Monday ordered a court-monitored investigation — by constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by senior IPS officer and Director-General of Police Alok Kumar — into the alleged large-scale irregularities in the recruitment processes conducted by the Karnataka State Public Service Commission (KPSC).

While giving 100 days for the SIT to complete the investigation and submit the final report, the court also directed it to submit an investigation progress report every 30 days.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order on petitions by Basanagouda R. Patil Yatnal, MLA, All Karnataka State Students’ Association, and Manjunath. The petitioners had sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into two cases: on selection of a daughter of the KPSC’s suspended chairperson Shivashankar S. Sahukar to the post of Industrial Extension Officer; and alleged illegalities in the process of selection of candidates to 400 posts of veterinary officers.

The court observed that, in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the cases, it was not appropriate to permit the investigation to continue either with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or the jurisdictional police, but it was equally not convinced that entrusting the probe to the CBI was the only available course.

Meanwhile, the court has named IPS officers Divya V. Gopinath, Anoop A. Shetty, Kushal Choksey, and Kshama Mishra as other members of the SIT.

The court also directed the State government to issue a notification declaring this SIT to be a police station for the purposes of investigation.

“The SIT shall conduct the investigation independently, impartially and uninfluenced by any observation made in this order on the merits of the allegations,” the court said.

The court also made it clear that the investigation by the SIT shall not be confined by the persons presently named, the allegations presently made or the contours presently perceived.