The High Court of Karnataka has stayed the notification to fill the post of director of Karnataka State Labour Institute (KSLI) based on the new bylaw on appointing only a retired IAS officer who has served in the Labour Department not below the rank of Labour Secretary or Commissioner.
Justice John Michael Cunha passed the interim order on a petition filed by the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh. The petitioner had alleged that several radical amendments to the bylaws, rules and regulations of KSLI, an institute set up by the State government under the Societies Registration Act, were made illegally to suit only retired bureaucrats. Prior to amendment, the rules mandated that a person having a Ph.D with research and teaching experience would be eligible for consideration.
It was also alleged in the petition that the entire process of amending the bylaws, rules and regulations, and the astronomical hike in remuneration and luxurious facilities for the director, were all carried out by the then Labour Commissioner K.G. Shantharam and a few other bureaucrats to ensure that Mr. Shantharam got the post of director after his retirement and that later only retired bureaucrats would be appointed to the post.
Questioning the legality of the approval granted by the Registrar of Societies to the amendments, the petitioner contended that Mr. Shantharam, subsequent to the amendment, secured the in-charge post of director and continuing even though he retired from government service on May 31. The petitioner also claimed that Mr. Shantharam, who invited applications for the post of director on May 30, would ensure his own appointment to the post.
