Karnataka HC issues emergent notice to State in PSI recruitment scam case

The high court issued notices to the State and DySP Narasimha Murthy, who is the complainant in the PSI recruitment scam case, ordering them to appear before court on May 25 in connection with an appeal by two rankers who were named in an FIR.

The Karnataka high court on Thursday issued emergent notices to the State and DySP Narasimha Murthy, who is the complainant in the police sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment scam case, summoning them before court on the next date of hearing, i.e., May 25.

The State and DySP Narasimha Murthy have been summoned in court for a hearing on an appeal filed by two rankers who were named in an FIR for allegedly tampering with OMR sheets in connection with the ongoing probe against the PSI recruitment scam in Karnataka. (GETTY IMAGES)

Rachana Hanumanth and Jagrut S, who were among the toppers in the police sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment exams held in October last year, had approached the HC earlier this month after they were named in the second FIR filed with regards to the case in Bengaluru.

The advocate, who appeared for the petitioners, argued that the FIR has been registered without there being any prima facie evidence and alleged that the two were falsely implicated due to vengeance. Rachana and Jagrut had participated in a protest against the scam earlier.

The recruitment exams to fill the posts of 545 PSIs became scam tainted after it was revealed that several candidates exercised fraudulent methods and malpractices to score well. Kalaburagi, the epicentre of the scam, was the exam centre from where most rankers emerged from. BJP leader Divya Hagaragi, who ran a school in Kalaburagi, which was chosen as an exam centre for the PSI exams, was later named as the prime accused who allegedly facilitated large-scale cheating.

Jagrut and Rachana were among these 22 candidates. Considering the state-wide cheating, Bommai government then decided to scrap the examinations held last year and announced that a re-examination will soon be held. After issuing emergent notices on Thursday, the HC is all set to hear the case on May 25.