Cabinet defers decision on KPSC recruitments

For the third time on the trot, the State Cabinet on Tuesday deferred the decision on recruitment of gazetted Group ‘A’ and ‘B’ probationers. Despite the Advocate General recommending withdrawal of the results notification, the Cabinet decided to seek another legal opinion before proceeding with the recruitments through the Karnataka Public Service Commission.

Law Minister T B Jayachandra said the decision was deferred since more legal clarity was required on the matter.  “Subsequent to the Advocate General’s  report on the matter, I as the Law minister have to give a clear picture to the Cabinet on the legal consequences of our decision on the KPSC recruitment,” Jayachandra said.

Re-study possible

He said that on account of the possible legal implications, if there is a need to proceed with revaluation, reinterview or re-publishing the list, the Law department will once again study the issue before taking a final call on the matter. Jayachandra claimed that the matter may be resolved by the next Cabinet meeting.

Sources said that the chief minister was in favour of the KPSC conducting re-evaluation and viva voce once again to ensure that the candidates who have been wronged are given relief. However, it was stated in the Cabinet meeting that the KPSC was not in favour of the move.

Earlier, a section of candidates selected for gazetted probationers Group ‘A’ and ‘B’ posts urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to give conditional appointments to them and take action against those who had been named in the CID report. The candidates said they had committed no irregularities and they were at the receiving end for no fault of theirs.
Fresh interviews

The CID, which investigated  the irregularities in the selection of candidates for gazetted probationers Group ‘A’ and ‘B’ posts by KPSC in 2012, had recommended fresh interviews for the 326 gazetted post candidates.The investigating agency had also sought the prosecution of former KPSC chairperson Gonal Bhimappa, member Mangala Sridhar and others for their alleged involvement in the scam.

KPSC aspirants Anand Kumar and Sushma said they had prepared for more than two years for the exam and got through. They now had been left in the lurch as the appointments were put on hold. The candidates made a representation to Siddaramaiah when he was coming out of Gandhi Bhavan after inaugurating an event  in Bangalore.