KPSC fiasco: KAT orders status quo on selection list

The Karnataka Administrative Tribunal has directed the State government to maintain status quo on the 2011 notification for recruitment of gazetted probationers through the Karnataka Public Service Commission.

The KAT has also ordered the government not to issue a fresh notification till it disposes of the matter.

The government has scrapped the said notification and annulled the list of candidates selected for these posts through an examination. More than 140 candidates, who were aggrieved by the action of the government, had approached the tribunal seeking to stay the scrapping of the selection list. A division bench comprising Judicial Member Moose Kunhi Nayarmoole and Administrative Member Abhijit Das Gupta passed the orders.

The bench said that the interest of the candidates who have moved the tribunal needs to be protected and directed the government to file its objections by September 19.Senior counsel B V Acharya, who appeared for the appellants (candidates), submitted that the State government had not assigned any reason for withdrawing the 2011 notification.

The notification was withdrawn vide an order dated August 14, 2014. He claimed that the withdrawal of the notification was in violation of Article 16 of the Constitution (Right to public employment) and that honest and meritorious candidates would suffer if the recruitment process was annulled.

The appellants said that the government had withdrawn the notification without conducting any inquiry, in violation of Rule 11(3) of the Gazetted Probationers Rules, 1997.

The notification for appointment of 362 gazetted probationers was withdrawn following allegations of irregularities in the recruitment process.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the government would take necessary steps to get the status quo order vacated.

Encroachment clearance

The State government has informed that High Court that it would clear 1.36 lakh acres of government land of encroachments by the end of December 15.

During the hearing of a petition by Samaj Parivarthan Samudaya, the government counsel R Devadas submitted that an action plan had been drawn up to clear the encroachment on government lands. 

The counsel said that a State-level task force headed by the principal secretary to Revenue department had been constituted to clear encroachments. The district-level committees are headed by the respective deputy commissioners. “We have fixed a monthly target to clear encroachments. The task force will be held responsible if the target is not achieved,” he said.

Advance bail for Mutalik

The High Court has granted anticipatory bail to Sri Rama Sena chief Pramod Mutalik in a case pertaining to incendiary speech delivered by him in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year.

Mutalik, who had contested from Bangalore South constituency, allegedly made public admission of his participation in the demolition of Babri masjid in Ayodhya. He is said to have stated that the mosques in Mathura and Kashi too should be demolished. His speech was aired in a private TV channel.

Azmal Khan, a resident of Bangalore, had filed a complaint against Mutalik for his remarks. The advance bail granted to Mutalik earlier was cancelled in the last week of July after Khan moved the court. The former had approached the High Court challenging cancellation of the bail.

Justice R B Budihal granted advance bail to Mutalik on the condition that he surrenders before Basavanagudi police within 30 days. He has also been directed to furnish a bond for Rs 25,000 along with a surety.