Journalism of Courage
Suspended KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa Sahukar’s daughter gets anticipatory bail
A Bengaluru sessions court granted anticipatory bail to Suma S Sahukar, daughter of suspended KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa S Sahukar, in a case over an alleged fake income certificate.
Upholding the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal's order, the court noted that the records clearly showed the man did not have a valid driving licence at the time of the accident. (File Photo)
A Bengaluru sessions court Friday granted anticipatory bail to suspended KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa S Sahukar’s daughter, who has been accused of securing a government post by submitting an alleged fake income certificate.
Reading out the order, the additional session judge said, “The petition filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, is allowed. The interim anticipatory bail granted earlier is hereby made absolute.”
The court granted anticipatory bail to the accused, Suma S Sahukar, on execution of a personal bond for Rs 1,00,000 and directed her to appear before the investigating officer as and when required for inquiry.
During the hearing for the interim anticipatory bail plea on July 14, Senior Advocate Arun Shyam appearing for the applicant had argued that Suma Sahukar had voluntarily withdrawn her candidature before the registration of the First Information Report (FIR) against her. He also stated that documents relevant for the investigation were already available with the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) and custodial interrogation was not required.
According to the FIR filed by KPSC Assistant Secretary Udyoga Soudha, Suma Sahukar allegedly applied for the post of Junior Engineer (Civil) in the Department of Industries and Commerce through the KPSC recruitment process in March 2024 under the 3B reservation category. She is accused of submitting an income and asset certificate declaring her family’s annual income as Rs 40,000 to establish eligibility under the category.
However, during scrutiny of her documents, KPSC found that her father had been serving as a member of the Commission since September 2019, drawing a basic monthly salary of about Rs 2.05 lakh. He was subsequently appointed KPSC chairman on April 5, 2021, with a basic monthly salary of around Rs 2.25 lakh, in addition to other admissible allowances.
According to the complaint, the Commission concluded that the family’s actual annual income was substantially higher than the amount declared in the certificate and exceeded the income ceiling prescribed for availing reservation benefits under the 3B category.
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Following the development, Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot suspended Shivashankarappa Sahukar, but the official has challenged his suspension before the Karnataka High Court.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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