The Karnataka High Court has instructed the state government to suspend the corrigendum notification that shortened the tenure of Shanth A Thimmaiah, the chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB). The court’s decision came after a hearing involving senior counsel Ravishankar, who represented Thimmaiah, and advocate-general K Shashikiran Shetty.
The advocate-general presented initial arguments in support of the corrigendum, but the court stated that a thorough hearing was necessary. Due to time constraints, the court was unable to fully listen to the counsel’s arguments at this stage. The court ordered the petition to be scheduled for Thursday. Meanwhile, as an interim measure, the state government was directed to suspend the corrigendum and not enforce it until the next hearing.
Thimmaiah, who was appointed as KSPCB chairman on November 15, 2021, asserts that his three-year term should last until November 14, 2024. The petitioner argued that as the KSPCB chief is a position connected to pleasure, the tenure, originally set for three years until November 2024, cannot be shortened arbitrarily without justifiable grounds, unless it falls under the definition of curtailment specified in section 5(4) of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.