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by IANS |
Dharwad (Karnataka), Dec 15 (IANS) The Dharwad Bench of the Karnataka High Court on Monday directed the authorities to consider the representation of the Akhila Karnataka Students' Association (AKSA), which has sought permission to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah regarding the issue of filling 2.84 lakh vacant government posts in the state.
The direction was issued after AKSA approached the court challenging the police decision to deny permission for a large-scale protest in Dharwad demanding immediate recruitment to vacant posts across government departments.
A Bench headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna disposed of the petition and directed the petitioners to approach Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner N. Shashikumar, who has been asked to facilitate consideration of permission for a meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The issue arose after nearly 30,000 job aspirants staged a protest in Dharwad on December 1, seeking urgent action on government recruitment. The police had denied permission for the protest, citing past incidents that occurred during similar agitations. Aggrieved by the denial, AKSA moved the High Court, seeking relief and permission to raise the issue through a peaceful demonstration and direct interaction with the government.
In its petition, AKSA stated that, as per available data, around 2.84 lakh government posts are lying vacant across various departments in Karnataka. This includes 9,536 vacant posts in the State Finance Department alone. The association also pointed to the shortage of personnel in the police force and claimed that prolonged delays and uncertainty in the recruitment process had allegedly driven several job aspirants to take their own lives.
The association contended that repeated representations to the government had failed to yield tangible results, forcing students and job seekers to resort to protests to draw attention to their demands. It argued that denying permission for peaceful protest or dialogue amounted to an infringement of democratic rights.
The matter of vacant posts was also taken up in the Legislature on December 11. Replying to a question raised by BJP MLC Nirani Hanamant Rudrappa in the Legislative Council, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah acknowledged the scale of vacancies and outlined the government’s plan to address the issue.
The question sought details on the steps taken by the government to fill approximately 2,84,881 vacant posts, including those in state-run corporations and boards.
Siddaramaiah informed the House that there are a total of 2,84,881 vacant posts in the state. Of these, 1,01,420 vacancies are in corporations and boards, while 14,677 posts are vacant in universities. The remaining vacancies are spread across various state government departments and local bodies.
He said approval has already been obtained from the Finance Department to fill 24,300 posts. Additionally, under the provisions of Article 371J applicable to the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, 32,132 posts are required to be filled. Taken together, the government has initiated the process to fill 56,432 posts, and implementation is currently underway.
The Chief Minister also acknowledged that the recruitment process had been delayed due to issues related to internal reservation, but clarified that the matter has since been resolved.
He assured the Legislature that the remaining vacant posts would be filled in a phased manner after securing the necessary approvals from the Finance Department.
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