Bengaluru: The high court Tuesday ordered notice to the governor’s office, Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) and its members in response to a fresh petition filed by the commission’s chairperson, Shivashankarappa S Sahukar, against his suspension. Justice Suraj Govindaraj posted the matter Wednesday.In this petition, Sahukar challenged the order of his suspension and recommendation sent by the governor to the President of India to make a reference to Supreme Court under Article 317(1) of the Constitution for an inquiry into the allegations against Sahukar.Sahukar claimed the governor’s action violates Article 317 as no inquiry was held and no reference received from the President’s office, as contemplated under the statute. The court was told the governor basically acted on media reports.While issuing the suspension order Monday, the governor’s secretariat said it had received complaints seeking action against Sahukar for allegedly facilitating the unlawful selection of his daughters during the recruitment process. It alleged that Sahukar neither recused himself nor formally declared a conflict of interest despite his daughters being candidates in the recruitment conducted by the commission he headed.
