Karnataka Public Service Commission seeks action against secretary for ‘misuse of power’

Karnataka Public Service Commission (KSPC) chairperson Shivashankarappa S Sahukar on Wednesday sought action against the agency’s secretary Suralkar Vikas Kishor for “misuse of power and unilateral decision-making.”

Taking objection to the officer’s plan to make recruitment exams more transparent by using AI technology and to him giving out information to the media on the same, Sahukar said in a press statement that the official had floated tender worth Rs 45 crore for the exam reform measures without either informing or getting the consent of the Commission.

“The Commission never discussed these measures in its meeting and it was not part of the meeting agenda,” he alleged. Listing out several instances where Suralkar had acted without co-ordinating with the Commission, Sahukar said complaints had already been raised against him with both the chief minister and the chief secretary. “In spite of all this, he continues to defy the directions of the Commission,” he stated. From publishing answer keys to provisional list of candidates and fixing meetings without prior intimation to the chairperson, Sahukar alleged that the official was acting without the consent of the Commission. 

As for the recent tender, a private agency had raised certain objections to the tender process and the Commission has sought clarification from the secretary for the same. “He has given his response in a note, which is being examined. In the meantime, he has gone ahead and spoken to the media. The Commission has asked the secretary to withhold the tender process until further directions. Once his note is completely examined, a memorandum will be sent to both the chief minister and the chief secretary to take appropriate action against the secretary and also inquire into the tender process,” Sahukar said.

Meanwhile, Suralkar, in a statement, said that it was well within the secretary’s powers to call for the tender. The tender amount is hypothetical as it depends on various factors like the number of students per exam, the number of exams in a given period and the number of different service personnel that might be deployed in different centres based on their sensitivity.  Without these parameters, the exact tender amount cannot be fixed, he said. In the tender document, it is clearly mentioned that it is the tender to empanel the agencies for various ancillary services. Due to a variety of services, there is always a possibility that multiple agencies might get empanelled. It is also mentioned in the tender document that the work order will be for individual exams, he said.