Karnataka high court
Bengaluru: Describing alleged manipulation in KPSC recruitment as a “fraud upon the Constitution”, the high court has said tampering with answer scripts and selling of posts not only deprives an individual candidate of a job but also strikes at the constitutional guarantee of equality. “When marks are manipulated, answer scripts or OMR sheets are tampered with, selections are purchased, or nepotism and favouritism creep into the process, the fraud is not merely upon an unsuccessful candidate; it is a fraud upon the Constitution itself,” the judge observed. The court said a recruitment scam in a Public Service Commission cannot be treated as an ordinary irregularity. “A recruitment scam in a Public Service Commission in particular is not merely a theft of a post; it is a theft of equality of opportunity,” Justice Nagaprasanna said, adding that such allegations strike at the roots of equality guaranteed under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution and “stain the sanctity of public administration”.
Justice M Nagaprasanna made the observations while ordering a fresh probe by a five-member special investigation team (SIT) into the alleged Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment scam, in which arrested IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar is among those accused.
The judge said the investigation must inspire public confidence but also be completed within a defined timeframe, given the impact of a prolonged probe on thousands of job aspirants. “It is, therefore, necessary to strike a balance between the imperative of an investigation which inspires confidence and the equally compelling necessity that such investigation be swift, focused and brought to its logical conclusion within a definite time frame,” he said. The court said manipulation of the recruitment process has consequences far beyond the immediate victims. “When a post is sold, an OMR sheet is tampered with, marks are manipulated or a selection is engineered, merit is not merely defeated; it is betrayed,” Justice Nagaprasanna observed. “Such betrayal breeds cynicism among the young and creates the dangerous perception that constitutional avenues themselves are available for purchase,” he added. On the plea seeking transfer of the investigation to CBI, the court said such a transfer could not be treated as a solution to every concern regarding an investigation. “Transfer to CBI cannot become a universal panacea for every perceived ill in an investigation, recruitment or otherwise,” Justice Nagaprasanna said. In recruitment cases, he said, delay can have serious consequences for aspirants.
He noted that investigations into cases of enormous magnitude by CBI have, on occasions, taken considerable time.