The KARNATAKA SERVICE EXAMINATIONS ACT, 1976

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THE KARNATAKA SERVICE EXAMINATIONS ACT, 1976 
ARRANGEMENT  OF SECTIONS  
Statement of Object and Reasons 
Sections : 
 1. Short title and commencement. 
 2. Definitions. 
 3. No service examination for the period from 1st November, 1956 to  
9th January, 1974. 
 4. Service Examinations for the period from 10th January, 1974. 
 5. Review, etc. 
 6. Application of Act No. 11 of 1974. 
 7. Power to make rules. 
 8. Amendment of Karnataka Act 11 of 974. 
  Summary of Amendments 
* * * * 
STATEMENTS OF OBJECTS AND REASONS 
I 
 Act 40 of 1976.- The question of the validity of the prescriptions of departmental 
examinations and also the validity of the promotions of Government servants on the 
basis of their having passed the said examinations have come up before courts. The 
decisions have been conflicting. While in one set of cases the prescription of the 
examinations have been upheld, a contrary view has been taken in other cases on the 
ground that prior approval of the Central Government under section 115 (7) of the States 
Re-organisation Act had not been obtained. 
 In a number of cases courts have also directed retrospective promotions and 
payment of arrears on the basis that no examination had been validly prescribed. 
 The Supreme Court has held in Ajit Singh Vs. State of Punjab reported in All India 
Reporter, 1967, Supreme Court 856 and in Income-Tax Officer, Alleppy Vs. N.C. 
Ponnoose, reported in All India Reporter, 1970, Supreme Court 385 that appointments of 
civil servants to offices in which statutory functions are exercisable cannot be made with 
retrospective effect. (In view of these decisi ons, promotion of officials with retrospective 
effect) to posts where discharge of statutory functions is involved may lead to legal 
complications, besides involving payment of large sums of money as arrears of pay and 
allowances to persons who have not discharged the duties of the promotional posts. 
 Therefore in order to set the contraversy at rest and to provide against the 
consequences indicated above, it is proposed- 
 (i) to declared that no service examinations had been validly prescribed prior to 10th 
January 1974 i.e. the date on which the Karnataka Civil Services (Service and Kannada 
Language Examinations ) Rules, 1974 were issued, after obtaining the previous 
approval of the Central Government under section 115 (7) of the States Reorganisation 
Act; 
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 (ii) to provide for review of all the promotions made up to that date; 
 (iii) to provide for prospective promotions only; 
 (iv) to provide for non-payment of arrears in view of the huge financial burden to the 
State exchequer. 
 Hence this Bill. 
 (Published in the Karnataka Gazette (Extraordinary) Part IV-2A dated 15-4-1976 as 
NO. 2042 at page 6-7.) 
II 
 Amending Act 25 of 1982.- The Karnataka State Civil Services (Regulation of 
Promotion, Pay and Pension) Act, 1973 (Act 11 of 1973) was passed in the year 1974 
providing for regulation of promotion, pay and pension and other conditions of service of 
civil servants including those who were allotted or are deemed to have been allotted to 
serve in connection with the affairs of the new State under section 115 of the States Re-
organisation Act, 1956. 
 2. The promotions made from 1-11-1956 were to be reviewed under section 4(1) of 
the Act on the basis of the Final I.S.S. Lists published in accordance with the decisions 
of the Government of India. While so reviewing the promotions it was noticed that some 
officers who were promoted earlier on the basis of their positions in the provisional I.S.S. 
Lists were eligible for promotion on dates later than the dates of their actual promotion. 
This would mean that the earlier promotion was fortuitous and the pay was therefore 
required to be revised. There was no provision in the Act  for regulation of pay in such 
cases. It was considered necessary to make a provision in the Act providing for 
refixation of pay in respect of such officers on the dates of eligibility. 
 3. Besides, there is an anomaly in the Karnataka Service Examinations Act, 1976. 
Section 8 (2) of the said Act amends section 3 of the Karnataka State Civil Services 
(Regulation of Promotion, Pay and Pension) Act, 1973. The 1976 Act came into force 
with effect from 1-11-1956 while section 3 of the 1973 Act came into force with effect  
from 11-4-1974. The amending provision cannot come into force from a date anterior to 
the date on which the original provision came into force. To remove this anomaly section 
8 of the Karnataka Service Examinations Act, 1976 is sought to be amended suitably. 
 4. Hence this Bill. 
 (Published in the Karnataka Gazette (Extraordinary) Part IV-2A dated 31-3-1981, as 
No. 223 at page 4.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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KARNATAKA ACT No. 40 OF 1976 
(First Published in the Karnataka Gazette Extraordinary on the Twenty-first day of May, 
1976) 
THE KARNATAKA SERVICE EXAMINATIONS ACT, 1976 
(Received the assent of the Governor on the Nineteenth day of May, 1976) 
(As Amended by Act 25 of 1982) 
 An Act to provide for service examinations and connected matters. 
 W HEREAS the validity of departmental examinations for persons serving in connection 
with the affairs of the State was from time to time questioned; 
 W HEREAS while in one set of decisions, courts had held that such examinations could 
be prescribed validly after obtaining the previous approval of the Central Government in 
pursuance of the proviso to section 115 (7) of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, in a 
later case, the Supreme court held that such previous approval can be assumed in terms 
of the Official Memorandum of the Central Government dated 27th March 1957; 
 W HEREAS the divergent views resulted in uncertainty and confusion in the matter of 
promotions and reviews thereof; 
 W HEREAS in order to set matters right, the Karnataka Civil Services (Service and 
Kannada Language Examinations) Rules, 1974 have been issued prescribing service 
examinations; 
 W HEREAS in some cases on the basis of certain earlier court decisions retrospective 
promotions and payment of back salary ,etc., are being claimed and sought to be 
enforced; 
 W HEREAS in the circumstances, it is not feasible, financially and otherwise also, to so 
promote and pay; 
 B E it enacted by the Karnataka State Legislature in the twenty-seventh Year of the 
Republic of India as follows:- 
 1. Short title and commencement.-  (1) This Act may be called the Karnataka 
Service Examinations Act, 1976. 
 1[(2) This section and all the other sections except section 8 shall be deemed to have 
come in to force on the First day of November, 1956. Section 8 shall be deemed to have 
come into force on the eleventh day of April, 1974.]
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  1. Substituted by Act 25 of 1982 w.e.f. 21.5.1976. 
 2. Definitions.-   In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- 
(a) ‘service examinations’ shall have the same meaning as the “prescribed 
examinations” in the Karnataka Civil Services (Service and Kannada Language 
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Examinations) Rules, 1974 issued under the proviso to Article 309 of the 
Constitution; 
 (b) ‘Government Servant’ means a person serving in connection with the affairs of 
the State of Karnataka and includes a person allotted or deemed to be allotted to the 
New State of Mysore in pursuance of Section 115 of the States Reorganisation Act, 
1956 (Central Act 37 of 1956). 
 3. No service examination for the period from I st November 1956 to 9th 
January 1974.- (1) For the period commencing on I st November 1956 and ending on 
9th January 1974, for the purpose of eligibility to promotion, no service examination shall 
be and shall ever be deemed to have been prescribed for Government servants.  
 (2) A Government servant who, during the aforesaid period, was not promoted solely 
on the ground of not passing any service examination shall, if he has not already been 
promoted and if he is otherwise eligible, be promoted. 
 (3) Every promotion under sub-section (2) shall, notwithstanding anything in any 
judgement, decree or order of any court, be prospective only on and from a date after 
10th January 1974: 
 Provided that,- 
 (1) the person promoted shall be entitled to initial pay on the date of actual promotion 
as if he was holding the promoted post from the date he would have been promoted but 
for not passing the service examination (hereinafter referred to as the eligibility date) but 
such person shall not be entitled to payment of any arrears for the period prior to the 
date of actual promotion; 
 (2) if the person to be promoted has retired from service prior to 10th January 1974, 
he shall, if otherwise eligible, be deemed to have been promoted from the eligibility date 
and his pension and Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity shall be revised on the basis of the 
pay he would have drawn had he been so promoted from that date. 
 4. Service Examinations for the period from 10th January 1974.-  On and from 
10th January 1974,- 
 (a) service examinations shall be the same  as the prescribed examinations provided 
in the Karnataka Civil Services (Service and Kannada Language Examinations) Rules, 
1974; and 
 (b) every Government servant including a Government servant promoted under sub-
section (2) of section 3 shall be required to pass the service examinations as provided 
and for the purposes specified therein. Failure to pass shall entail the consequences 
specified in the said rules. 
 5. Review etc.-  (1)  To facilitate promotions under section 3, a review of promotions 
made between 1st November 1956 and 9th January 1974 shall be made and the 
persons promoted shall, if juniors to the person to be promoted, yield place and 
wherever necessary be reverted to the lower post. 
 (2) In the seniority list of persons in the class or grade of service to which a 
Government servant is promoted under section 3, the rank of the promoted person shall 
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be fixed as if he had been promoted to that class or grade of service on the eligibility 
date. 
 6. Application of Act No. 11 of 1974.-  In respect of matters not expressly provided 
in this Act, the provisions of the Karnataka State Civil Services (Regulation of Promotion, 
Pay and Pension) Act, 1973 (Karnataka Act 11 of 1974) as amended by section 8 shall, 
to the extent they are not inconsistent with this Act, be applicable. 
 7. Power to make rules.- (1) The State Government may make rules for carrying 
out the purposes of this Act. 
 (2) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made 
before each House of the State Legislature while it is in session for a total period of thirty 
days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions and 
if before the expiry of the session immediately following, the session or the successive 
sessions aforesaid both Houses agree  in making any modification in the rule or both 
Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall, from the date on which 
the modification or annulment is notified by the Government in the official Gazette, have 
effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so however, that 
any such modification or annulment shall be wi thout prejudice to the validity of anything 
previously done under such rule. 
 8. Amendment of Karnataka Act 11 of 1974.-  In the Karnataka State Civil Services 
(Regulation of Promotion, pay and Pension) Act, 1973 (Karnataka Act 11 of 1974)- 
 (1) for the word ‘Mysore’ wherever it occurs (including in the title, preamble, short 
title), the word ‘Karnataka’ shall be substituted; 
 (2) for clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 3, the following clause shall be 
substituted, namely:- 
  "(a) be entitled to promotion to any post or office with effect from a retrospective 
date, except and to the extent specified in the rules made under this Act”. 
 (3) after section 9, the following section shall be inserted, namely:- 
 “ 9A. Rules.- (1) The State Government may make rules to carry out the purposes of 
this Act. 
 (2) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made 
before each House of the State Legislature while it is in session for a total period of thirty 
days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions and 
if before the expiry of the session immediat ely following the session or the successive 
sessions aforesaid both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both 
Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall, from the date on which 
the  modification or annulment is notified by the Government in the official Gazette, have 
effect only in such  modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so however, 
that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of 
anything previously done under such rule”. 
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The Karnataka  Service Examinations Act, 1976(40 0f 1976)  has been amended by the 
following Acts namely: 
Amendments (Chronological) 
Sl. 
No. 
Acts No. and 
year 
Sections Amended Remarks 
1 40 of 1976 - The Act (except section 8) came into 
force w.e.f  1.11.1956 
 and section 8 came into force from 
11.4.1974   
2 25 of 1982 1(2) w.e.f 1.11.1956  
Amendments Section-wise 
Sections Act No. and year Remarks 
1(2) 25 of 1982 w.e.f. 1.11.1956 
 

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