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Avinash C. & Ors. v. State of Karnataka & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 303Decided 4 Apr 2018
Civil Appeal Nos. 3543-3555 of 2018
Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

The Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) conducted a selection process in 2011-2013 for 362 Group 'A' and 'D' posts. Complaints surfaced of bribery and manipulation in the examinations and interviews, including an FIR against the KPSC's Chairman and officials. Based on a CID report, the State Government annulled the written test and interview results, but a Tribunal later quashed that annulment and ordered appointments; the Karnataka High Court then reversed the Tribunal and restored the cancellation of the entire selection, prompting the selected candidates to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision, noting strong evidence of a rigged process: call records between candidates and KPSC members, 566 candidates receiving identical pre-determined marks with no individual objective assessment, and even the building's digital video recorder being replaced to destroy evidence. The Court held that when a selection process itself is tainted, it is not always necessary to separate tainted from untainted candidates, and a pre-appointment cancellation can be interfered with only if patently arbitrary, mala fide, or illegal, which was not the case here. However, since no one had argued before the High Court that the written examination alone (as opposed to the interviews) was untainted, the Court gave the parties liberty to raise that specific point before the High Court within two weeks, leaving it open for the High Court to decide whether the written test results could be restored or a fresh selection held.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will not restore even a completed selection process to government service if there is credible evidence the process itself, not just individual candidates, was manipulated; maintaining the integrity of public recruitment outweighs any expectation interest candidates may have from merely appearing on a select list.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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