Governor Suspends Karnataka Public Service Commission Chief Over Daughters’ Selection Row

way2barak, July 13 : In a first in the history of the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has suspended KPSC Chairperson Shivashankarappa S. Sahukar, pending an inquiry, for alleged misconduct linked to the illegal selection of his daughter through the KPSC recruitment process. The Governor has recommended to the President of India to make a reference to the Supreme Court of India under Article 317(1) of the Constitution for an inquiry into the allegations.

“To further ensure a fair, impartial and uninfluenced investigation while protecting the integrity and credibility of KPSC, the Governor has placed the Chairman under suspension until further orders from the President’s office,” read a statement from Karnataka Lok Bhavan on July 13.

The Governor has directed the senior-most member of the Commission to function as the Acting Chairperson until further orders from the President of India.

Mr. Sahukar, who was appointed to the commission as a member in 2019, was elevated to the post of Chairperson on April 5, 2021. He was due to retire in 2027.

Dr. B. Prabhudev, who was appointed on April 9, 2021, is the senior-most member of the Commission after Mr. Sahukar.

The KPSC conducts competitive examinations and recommends the list of successful candidates to the government of Karnataka in recruitment for Group A, B and C posts in State civil services. It is not for the first time that the KPSC is in the news for the wrong reasons. Over the last two decades, KPSC has been in the news over allegations of nepotism, corruption and recruitment scams in selection of candidates. Currently, a 11-member committee of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, headed by R.V. Deshpande, has been asked to recommend measures to prevent irregularities and overhaul the KPSC.

Vidhana Soudha police registered an FIR against Suma S. Sahukar on July 10 for allegedly claiming reservation benefits under the 3B category by producing an Income and Asset Certificate that declared her family’s annual income as ₹40,000 to facilitate selection for the post of Junior Engineer (Civil) in the Department of Industries & Commerce in March 2024. She had secured the 3B certificate for reservation on March 3, 2020.

The other daughter, Anuradha Sahukar, who is married, has been selected in the Hyderabad-Karnataka cadre in general merit category.

The FIR was registered based on a complaint from KPSC, after verification revealed that the income certificate was false; during the selection process, the candidate’s father, Shivashankrappa S. Sahukar, was the Chairperson of KPSC, a constitutional post, drawing a monthly salary of ₹2.25 lakh, apart from other allowances. Being a dependent of her father, she falls in the creamy layer category with an annual income above ₹8 lakh.