Karnataka court reviews interview marks, orders thorough probe into KPSC member

The Karnataka High Court denied anticipatory bail to a Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) member accused of favouring a Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) aspirant after examining the marks awarded to the candidate during the interview process. KPSC member Dr Shantha Hosamani had shared 13 phone calls with the aspirant she interviewed for a KAS job in May this year.

Hosamani and the shortlisted KAS candidate are being investigated by the Karnataka Police’s Criminal Investigation Department under the Karnataka Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Corruption and Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act, 2023, over alleged irregularities in the recruitment process for 384 state administrative service posts.

“The allegation against the petitioner is of favouring a particular candidate for extraneous reasons, in the interview that was held to the post of KAS officers. Records made available to the court by learned SPP [special public prosecutor] and learned counsel for KPSC makes out a prima facie case for the alleged offence, which is punishable with imprisonment upto twelve years,” the high court said on October 15.

The court examined documents submitted by the KPSC in a sealed cover showing the marks awarded by the interview committee to all nine candidates who appeared before it on May 8. The marks were submitted confidentially as the final KAS selection list has not been released.

“This court has also perused the marks awarded by the petitioner and other members of the interview committee to accused No.2 in the interview that was held on 08.05.2026, who is allegedly favoured by the petitioner,” the high court observed.

With Hosamani and the candidate making contradictory statements on their association, the high court said, “A thorough investigation in this type of cases is necessary to unearth the roots of crime, involvement of other persons within and outside the Institution, particulars of undeserving candidates who have been favoured, modus operandi followed by the accused etc., so as to curb and restore faith in the system.”

The court said that Hosamani “allegedly misused her office for the purpose of making unlawful gain”. “Such acts result in the public losing faith in the system and thousands of students, who are otherwise meritorious, are deprived of appointments. In such situations, no matter how high the office the accused holds, he or she is to be treated on an equal footing by law, with iron hands,” the high court added.

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What the CID probe has found

Hosamani, 62, a medical doctor by profession, allegedly shared 13 phone calls with a shortlisted candidate in the run-up to a May 8 job interview, a CID probe has revealed. The candidate allegedly called Hosamani eight times, and the KPSC member reportedly called her five times before the interview.

The candidate, who has appeared before the probe agency for questioning, stated in court that she hails from a poor family in Kalaburagi and succeeded in cracking the KPSC selection process for KAS gazetted probationers on her third attempt.

Hosamani and the selected KAS candidate are under investigation after Kantharaju, president of the All Karnataka State Students Association, filed a complaint with the Bengaluru police alleging that the KAS selection process was compromised by Hosamani through corruption to favour a candidate.

According to Kantharaju’s police complaint, the candidate “paid or agreed to pay an illegal gratification amount in connection with the intention of securing a post in KAS recruitment” after her interview.

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The CID probe is yet to ascertain whether Hosamani collected any bribes to facilitate the selection of the candidate who was known to her through a caste affiliation. As per KPSC rules, the “members should not conduct the interview of their relatives, and they should not have contact with candidates”.

Hosamani has argued in court that interview panels for the KAS selection comprised other members and that the candidates who would appear before each panel were chosen by drawing a lottery at 9 am on the day of the interview and “there is no possibility to manipulate” to select a particular panel for a candidate or vice versa.

Coveted KAS posts

Over 2 lakh aspirants wrote the preliminary exams for the 384 KAS posts (including 74 posts for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region) in 2024, and 1,152 (including 222 for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region) were called for the interview round in May this year.

The KAS posts, or the gazetted probationers A- and B-category posts, are highly coveted posts as they involve significant administrative powers.

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The controversially selected candidate is among the 222 candidates from the Hyderabad-Karnataka region called for the interview round.

On July 31, the Karnataka High Court stayed the final selection list pronouncement.