The vacation bench of the High Court directed the Karnataka Examinations Authority to accept the applications of orphan candidates for the post of Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) and Grama Panchayat Secretary (GPS). The orphan candidates were unable to apply for the post online as the application asked them to fill the caste column.
The petitioners, Mohan Kumari and Mani are orphans under the care of Odanadi Seva Samithi, Mysuru and tried to apply for the post of PDO and GPS. But they were not able to process the application form as they mentioned 'NIL' in the caste column. The petitioners approached the court seeking directions to the KEA to accept their application forms directly.
Justice B V Nagarathna directed the petitioners to submit their online application showing their caste as 'NIL' in the General Merit category. In case the online application is not accepted, KEA is directed to accept the application to be filed by the petitioners in person at their office. The judge, in the order, directed KEA to consider the application submitted by the petitioners by hand for the purpose of scrutiny. The bench also issued notice to the state government and KEA in the matter.