The limits of legislative power: What the Supreme Court's KPSC ruling says about courts and states

The limits of legislative power: What the Supreme Court’s KPSC ruling says about courts and states

By James Carter October 30, 2026

2 min read

The Supreme Court has struck down Karnataka’s 2022 law that validated appointments from a 2011 recruitment cancelled over corruption and nepotism, and has ordered fresh recruitment for the vacant Group A and Group B posts.

The legal principle is the lasting part. A legislature may change the legal basis of a court decision, but it cannot directly annul a final judgment through a later law, which limits how far a state can go to undo a court’s order.

The practical effects are real. Appointments made under the Act must end, selected candidates will get seniority only from their new appointment date, and earlier service will count toward pension for those selected again. Candidates from 2011 get a one-time age relaxation.

The ruling also shows how long recruitment disputes run, from a 2011 notification to a 2026 judgment.

The court found no equitable basis to protect the selected candidates, whose appointments depended on the 2022 Act, according to LiveLaw.

The Karnataka Public Service Commission notified the recruitment in November 2011 to fill 362 gazetted probationer posts, according to the Daily Pioneer.

A Criminal Investigation Department inquiry followed complaints of irregularities, according to the same report.

The state cancelled the recruitment in 2014, and the Karnataka High Court upheld the cancellation in 2018, according to the Daily Pioneer, while another report gives different years, so the dates differ between reports.

The Supreme Court later declined to interfere with the High Court’s decision, according to the Daily Pioneer.

The state enacted the validation law in 2022, and it was challenged in the Supreme Court, according to the same report.

The Karnataka government must now notify fresh recruitment for the vacant Group A and Group B posts under the existing rules, according to LiveLaw.

Candidates from the 2011 recruitment, including the appellants and those not found tainted, get a one-time age relaxation to compete in the new recruitment, according to the reports.

Supreme Court of India (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0