Karnataka High Court Issues Notice on Challenge to Disability Commissioner Appointment

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday issued notices to the State Government and others on a petition challenging the appointment of Venkataramanaswamy SV as the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. Justice S Sunil Dutt Yadav passed the order on the petition filed by Praveen Ullagaddi. The respondents must file their response within 10 days. The appointment will remain subject to the result of the petition.

Ullagaddi, a resident of Mudalgi in Belagavi district, said he was an aspirant to the post of State Commissioner. He contended that the selection process adopted by the authorities lacked transparency and fairness. He called the process opaque, arbitrary and non-transparent. He said the manner in which the appointment was made raised questions about the procedure followed for choosing the appointee.

Response ordered within 10 days

The order requires the State and the other respondents to place their replies on record within the 10 days fixed by the court. Those replies will have to answer the petitioner's allegations about the selection procedure. The court did not interdict the appointment at the notice stage. It instead directed that the appointment of Venkataramanaswamy will be subject to the final outcome of the petition.

According to the petitioner, no disclosure was made about the constitution of a search committee for the post. He stated that the authorities did not make public whether any such committee was formed for identifying and assessing candidates. He further stated that in the absence of information about the committee and the criteria applied, the selection could not be treated as transparent. The court will consider these pleadings along with the stand of the respondents once the replies are filed.

The case will proceed after the responses are received within the time allowed. The appointee continues in office under the order, but the continuance of the appointment will depend on the court's final decision on the petition.