Kushal Chouksey, an IPS officer, has been reassigned to Chitradurga, approximately 200 km from Bengaluru. This transfer occurred just two days after the Karnataka High Court appointed him to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) tasked with investigating alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment process.
Chouksey, who was serving as deputy commissioner of police (administration) in Bengaluru, has been posted as superintendent of police in Chitradurga. Chouksey is among four officers appointed to the team alongside Divya V Gopinath, Anup A Shetty and Kshama Mishra. His transfer is his second posting change in less than a month. The Chitradurga post became vacant after Ranjith Kumar was transferred. The government has now posted Chouksey to fill the position. The court has directed the Criminal Investigation Department and jurisdictional police to hand over records and evidence from the two cases to the SIT within a week. It has also ordered the state government to provide the team with a station, staff and other facilities required for the investigation. “I don’t know how high court can interfere. There are several directives and legal provisions concerning the appointment of officers.
The order was issued on September 23, two days after Justice M Nagaprasanna constituted the five member SIT under the leadership of senior IPS officer Alok Kumar, DGP, Prisons and Correctional Services. He was moved from superintendent of police, Chikkaballapur, to DCP (Administration), Bengaluru, in the August 29 reshuffle of senior police officers.
After the HC order, chief minister D K Shivakumar said the appointment of officials was the prerogative of the state government. I will examine that legally,” he told the media.
High Court Assigns Investigation with Urgent Timeline
The high court has recently appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a probe, with the transfer occurring just two days after the assignment. The SIT is tasked with completing its investigation within 100 days and is required to submit a final report. Additionally, the court expects progress updates every 30 days during this period.
The latest order does not cite the KPSC investigation as a reason for the transfer.
Officials familiar with the arrangement said the move is an administrative decision and that Chouksey is expected to continue as a member of the SIT.
