Bengaluru, 30 Oct

The Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal (KSAT) has stayed the "arbitrary suspension" of a Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) for taking part in an RSS route march, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said on Thursday.

The Bengaluru South MP, who is also a lawyer by profession, said his office had challenged the suspension of Lungasugur PDO Praveen Kumar in Raichur district.

"KSAT has today stayed the suspension order, which was mechanically passed due to political pressure," he said on X. The stay should serve as a lesson to the Congress government that "no amount of intimidation can deter the nation-building ideals of RSS.”

Surya said Senior Advocate Prabhuling Navadgi argued before the KSAT that the suspension was illegal and arbitrary, contending that participation in a private, non-political event on a non-working day could not constitute a violation of service rules.

Reacting to the development, Priyank Kharge wrote on ‘X’, “Misinterpreting the court directions seems to have become a habit for BJP leaders. The Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal, Kalburagi Bench has only passed an interim order and has not passed any order quashing or setting aside the suspension order of the PDO who participated in RSS rally.”

The suspension order will be in abeyance till the final verdict of the case. The tribunal has directed the matter to be listed for final hearing on 14 November with the direction to the State government to file a reply statement, the Minister said.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) convenor for Kalaburagi, Ashok Patil, to meet district authorities on 5 November at the Advocate-General’s office to discuss the proposed route march in Chittapur town in Kalaburagi district. The court expressed hope that the meeting would pave the way for a resolution and ordered that the matter be taken up again on 7 November for further proceedings. The march, initially planned for 2 November, has been deferred pending this meeting.