PSI exam aspirants stage protest during Karnataka CM’s Janata Darshan

On Monday morning, the police detained a group of individuals who were holding a protest during the Janata Darshan, demanding more time for the re-examinations for the post of police sub-inspectors (PSI)

Days after the state government announced the re-examination to fill 545 police sub-inspector (PSI) posts, aspirants held a protest in front of the chief minister’s house demanding the postponement of the examination on Monday, claiming that there was not enough time for preparations. The recruitment to the posts was halted in 2021 following allegations of corruption, however, on November 22, the decision to conduct the re-examination in December was announced.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah holds Janata Darshan at his residence in Bengaluru on Monday. (ANI)

On Monday morning, the police detained a group of individuals who were holding a protest during the Janata Darshan, demanding more time for the re-examinations for the post of police sub-inspectors (PSI). They were taken into custody by the police. “There was no permission for the protest, so they were detained. They were later let off with a warming,” said a senior police officer.

The decision to conduct the PSI re-examination in Bengaluru on December 23 was announced by S Ramya, the executive director of KEA. Eligible candidates are those who had previously qualified in the written test conducted by the state police department for the PSI positions.

“Following a high court judgement delivered on November 10, upholding the state government’s authority to conduct a fresh examination for PSI recruitment through an independent body the KEA would conduct the examination and Initially, around 54,000 candidates had qualified for the written examination,” KEA executive director S Ramya said.

The candidates, however, demanded that two more months should be given for them to prepare for the examination. “It was the aspirants who exposed the irregularities in the examination. We have supported the legal process that went on for more than two years as well. But, now when the government has announced re-examination, we have been asked to write the examination within a month. There is no time for us to prepare. The government should provide us with more time to prepare for the examination,” said Rajesh R, one of the aspirants.

A senior home department who spoke on the condition of anonymity said there are no plans to postpone the examination as preparations are currently underway.

The PSI recruitment process, which began with a government notification on January 21, 2021, faced challenges after irregularities were detected in the written examination. Out of the 142,636 applicants, 54,104 candidates passed the physical fitness test in 2021. The written exam took place on January 3, 2022, with the provisional list published on January 19.

Due to irregularities, the CID was called in, and based on their interim report, the government decided to cancel the written examination conducted on January 3, 2022. A fresh examination was ordered on April 29, 2022.

Candidates contested this decision through the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT), but their applications were dismissed on July 14, 2022. Subsequently, candidates filed a writ petition in the high court challenging the KAT order.

On November 10, the high court upheld the state government’s April 29, 2022 decision to cancel the examination following large-scale malpractices allegedly involving some candidates and a few top-ranked police officials. A division bench comprising Justice PS Dinesh Kumar and Justice TG Shivashankare Gowda passed the order while dismissing petitions filed by some of the candidates.

The court directed the state government to entrust the task of conducting a fresh written examination to an independent agency to maintain fairness in the conduct of the test.

“Conducting a re-examination would be unfair to those already selected. Out of the 490 candidates selected, 137 are women, and some have resigned from the government and private jobs,” B Manjunath a PSI aspirant who selected from an earlier list told reporters̤ He said the selected candidates have written to the state government, urging a judicial investigation to ensure proper justice for all candidates involved.

The PSI recruitment scandal refers to alleged irregularities in the selection of sub-inspectors in several districts in Karnataka, that sparked a political row in the state.

Several individuals, including additional director general of police (ADGP) Amrit Paul, deputy superintendents of police (DSP), inspectors, various other police personnel, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Divya Hagaragi (who owned the Jnana Jyothi English Medium School in Kalaburagi), and a Congress MLA’s gunman have been arrested in connection with the scandal. Another key accused, RD Patil, the alleged mastermind behind the scam, was granted bail and released on December 18, following a high court order.

Throughout the investigation, the CID identified 52 candidates involved in the scam, and the government has permanently banned them from participating in PSI exams. To date, a total of 110 individuals have been arrested in connection with the scandal.