A legislature cannot set aside a court's judgment, Supreme Court holds while striking down a Karnataka validation law
29 October 2026
The Supreme Court has ruled that a legislature cannot directly annul a judgment a constitutional court has already delivered.
At issue was a 2011 selection of gazetted probationers by the Karnataka Public Service Commission, which was cancelled, and that cancellation had been upheld by the High Court and by the Supreme Court.
Karnataka then brought in a law in 2022 to validate the same selection and the appointments made from it.
The Court struck that law down and held that the appointments resting on it come to an end.
The State must now notify fresh recruitment for the vacant Group A and Group B posts under the rules already in force.
A one-time relaxation of the upper age limit was allowed to the appellants, to petitioners whose cases are pending before the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal and to appointed candidates against whom nothing was found.
Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran heard the matter, and the Court also laid down what happens to seniority and back wages.
In plain words
KPSC Karnataka Public Service Commission — The State Public Service Commission that recruits for Karnataka's civil services.
Validation Act Karnataka Civil Services (Validation of Selection and Appointment of 2011 Batch Gazetted Probationers) Act, 2022 — The State law the Supreme Court struck down in this case.