BENGALURU: The High Court on Tuesday set aside an order passed by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot suspending Shivashankarappa S Sahukar as Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) chairman.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj pronounced the operative portion of the order, partly allowing the petition filed by Sahukar, challenging the governor’s order dated July 10 over his daughters’ appointment.
The court directed that Sahukar should be reinstated as KPSC chairman, but barred him from taking any decision on the proposed action by the KPSC against his daughters over their appointment.
The court said it has decided only the constitutional validity of the order, which is being quashed because it lacks the aid and advice of the state cabinet. It has not gone through the truth or otherwise of the allegations against Sahukar, it said.
Senior counsel Arun Shyam, appearing for Sahukar, said the governor’s action is not valid as it was done before the initiation of an inquiry by the President to be held by the Supreme Court as contemplated under Art 317 of the Constitution.
The senior advocate appearing for the Governor submitted that the petitioner has been suspended after the veracity of the allegations. Out of two daughters’ appointments, one daughter, Suma S Sahukar, applied for the post of Group ‘C’ Industrial Extension Officer.
She had applied for a Category 3B certificate under the impression that it was only a caste certificate. But the income was also reflected in the certificate and during verification, the commission noticed that the income mentioned in the certificate is less than the actual income of Suma’s father, which led to the controversy.