
BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court stayed the order passed by the Central government to debar Justice PN Desai, former HC judge, from any government appointment for three years. Justice R Devdas passed the interim order after hearing the petition by Justice Desai, questioning the order dated November 7, 2024, by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
The Karnataka government had appointed Justice Desai as the one-man commission of inquiry to look into alleged irregularities in the allotment of compensatory sites to BM Parvathy, wife of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, by Mysuru Urban Development Authority.
The ministry’s order states that Justice Desai was appointed Judicial Member of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Hyderabad Bench, vide order dated August 5, 2024, with a joining time of 30 days. However, he submitted his unwillingness to join CAT due to personal reasons, though he had declared in his application for Judicial Member that he would not decline the appointment and join within 30 days from the date of appointment.
He also stated that he was aware that for any violation of these conditions, the government may debar him for three years for appointment outside the cadre, and in any autonomous body, statutory body or regulatory body. In view of violation of conditions, Justice Desai is debarred for three years with effect from October 21, 2024, for consideration of the appointment, the ministry’s order stated. Senior counsel for Justice Desai argued that the petitioner was appointed Judicial Member but had requested to defer date of joining as he had already taken charge of the commission.