Karnataka High Court stays Centre's order debarring retired judge from govt appointment

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday stayed the order issued by the Union government debarring former high court judge Justice P N Desai from any government appointment. 

Justice R Devdas passed the interim order on a petition filed by the retired judge and adjourned the hearing to February 6 to enable the respondents to file their responses. 

The state government had appointed Justice Desai as the One Man Commission of Inquiry to probe the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case involving Chief Minister Siddaramiah, his wife B M Parvathi and others. In the meantime, Justice Desai was appointed as a judicial member of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). 

The petition stated that Justice Desai had sought the postponement of his joining date for CAT, stating that he had already taken up the assignment offered by the state government. 

Instead of considering the request for a grant of time, the union government, through an order dated November 7, 2024, barred him from any government appointment. 

Justice Desai’s petition further stated that the union government neither obtained his consent nor issued him a notice before passing the order debarring him.