Supreme Court: 2022 Karnataka Validation Act declared unconstitutional

The Supreme Court, by a two‑judge bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran, held on 29 October 2026 that the Karnataka Civil Services (Validation of Selection and Appointment of 2011 Batch Gazetted Probationers) Act, 2022 was unconstitutional and could not validate the cancelled recruitment of Group A/B officers.

The recruitment of 362 officers to the Karnataka Group A and Group B services in 2011 had been annulled after a CID inquiry exposed corruption and nepotism in the selection process. Both the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal and the Karnataka High Court upheld the cancellation. Subsequently, several public interest litigations and writ petitions were filed, and the State legislature enacted the 2022 Act seeking to retrospectively validate the selection and appointment of the affected probationers. The central question before the Court was whether a statute could legitimize a recruitment that had been declared tainted and void by the courts.

The Court observed that legislative validation is permissible only where the procedural irregularities are apparent and do not affect the substantive integrity of the selection. It held that the 2022 Act attempted to cure a process that had been judicially found corrupt, which is beyond the competence of the legislature. Citing precedents that statutes cannot overturn a final judicial determination, the Court set aside the Act, allowed the appeals, and directed the State to re‑issue the recruitment notification with a one‑time age relaxation for the appellants, while refusing any claim to back wages or seniority. All interim applications were dismissed.

Read the judgment and its head note on DLJ: Srinivasa T vs The State Of Karnataka And Ors. Etc. Etc (2026 INSC 1173).