In an assurance given to the Karnataka High Court, the Karnataka State Government said that it would take the necessary steps and submit a status report on the appointment of staff to the SC/ST student hostels in certain districts of the state.
The Karnataka Government made this submission in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which was initiated by the court on its own based on a report in a Marathi newspaper on December 7.
According to this report, there was no appointment of staff in these hostels despite specific guidelines. It was also noted that a single warden was in charge of three or four government-run hostels, says PTI.
Acknowledging the media reports, Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit of the division bench, issued notice to the state government to respond to the allegations raised in the petition.
The court also appointed Advocate Nitin Ramesh as the amicus curiae in the case and ordered the Registrar of the High Court to transfer all relevant documents related to the case for examination.
The court observed during the hearing that the staffing shortfall hurt students' education, leading to subpar exam results. The court also worried about the government's ongoing hiring of 200 wardens, noting that the government had made no appointments despite the notice.
The court voiced concerns about the difficulties the entire system would encounter while filling such positions and stressed the urgency of taking immediate action.
It also sought information on the presence of a dedicated authority to bring such vacant positions to the government's attention from time to time.
The court also indicated its intention to inquire further into the matter when the case is next heard. Adjourning the case, the court announced that the hearing would be taken up after the winter vacation.
