Karnataka Jails DGP Alok Kumar Seeks Correction to SC Submission on CBI Probe

Bengaluru: Karnataka DGP (Prison) Alok Kumar has taken an exception over the way the Karnataka government objected to his appointment as the head of the SIT by the Karnataka High Court to probe irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), government sources said.

In a letter dated October 5 to the Karnataka Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, Kumar sought urgent intervention to correct the government's submission in the Supreme Court that claimed a CBI investigation is pending against him. Kumar called the claim factually incorrect.

The submission, Kumar said, unnecessarily dragged his name into the controversy and raised questions about his professional integrity and reputation. A copy of the letter is with PTI.

The Supreme Court had, on October 1, stayed the Karnataka High Court's order constituting the SIT headed by him and scheduled further hearing for October 12.

"The statements made before the Hon'ble Supreme Court by Shri Kapil Sibal are contrary to the factual position reflected in the official records," Kumar said. He was referring to the submissions made by the senior advocate representing the state government, who had opposed his appointment as SIT chairman on the ground of an alleged pending CBI investigation into telephone-tapping allegations dating back to his tenure as Bengaluru Police Commissioner.

Kumar said the CBI investigation into the telephone-tapping case had officially been closed, with the agency filing a closure report that was accepted by the CBI Special Court on February 13, 2024.

He cited the court order recording that the complainant had no objection to the closure report.

He further stated that the state government had decided in May 2023 that no departmental inquiry was required against him after examining his representation challenging the CBI's recommendation for disciplinary action against him.

According to the letter, Kumar had challenged a show-cause notice and chargesheet issued to him on May 9, 2025, before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

Following a split verdict by the tribunal's Bengaluru Bench, its chairman, in an order dated October 14, 2025, quashed the notice and chargesheet and directed that consequential benefits follow.

The state government subsequently challenged the CAT chairman's order before the Karnataka High Court on October 31, 2025.

Kumar said the High Court had declined to grant a stay on the tribunal's order and the matter remained pending.

"Therefore, as on today, no CBI investigation/ enquiry or departmental enquiry or proceeding is pending against me in relation to the matter referred to before the Hon'ble Supreme Court," he said.

Kumar also pointed out that the CBI's preliminary inquiry, submitted on January 5, 2022, had not found criminality and had only advised the state government to take action as deemed fit against three officers, including him.

He said the inquiry concerned telephone-tapping allegations between September 2018 and August 2019, while he served as Bengaluru Police Commissioner only from June 17 to August 2, 2019.

He said the then chief minister, after considering his representation and explanation, had ordered that no inquiry or disciplinary proceedings were required against him. The relevant files and notings had subsequently been examined by the CAT, he added.

Kumar expressed concern that the submissions made before the Supreme Court had received media coverage.

He also clarified that he had neither approached the High Court seeking appointment as SIT chairman nor expressed any desire to head the team. The High Court had named him to the position in its September 21, 2026, order, he said.

The SIT was constituted by a judge of the Karnataka High Court to investigate alleged large-scale irregularities in KPSC recruitment, including the appointment of veterinary doctors and allegations concerning the appointment of KPSC Chairman Shivashankarappa S Sahukar's daughters as Industrial Officers.

With the state government required to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court, Kumar urged the chief secretary to ensure that the legal team was apprised of the relevant court orders and official records before submitting its response.

He also requested that no incorrect or unverified allegations concerning him be included in the affidavit and that the correct factual position be placed before the Supreme Court.