The Criminal Investigation Department of the Karnataka Police has approached the state government seeking official sanction to prosecute former Indian Administrative Service officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar over the alleged leakage of questions in a Karnataka Public Service Commission recruitment test. Gangwar stands accused of leaking questions from a veterinary doctors recruitment examination to ten candidates prior to the test. The investigating agency moved forward with the request after the Supreme Court indicated on October 13 that chargesheets could be filed against individuals arrested in the case.
Examination Integrity Under Scrutiny
Gangwar, a 2016-batch officer of the Karnataka cadre, served as the Controller of Examinations at the Karnataka Public Service Commission between January 2024 and March 2026. In that capacity, he oversaw the administration of recruitment tests and related confidential procedures at the commission.
Investigators state that questions from the veterinary doctors recruitment examination conducted in January 2026 were compromised and supplied to ten specific candidates. The CID discovered that every one of those ten candidates subsequently secured a place among the top twenty rank holders on the final merit list. The findings have raised severe questions regarding the confidentiality of test materials and the fairness of recruitment conducted under the state commission.
Custody and Legal Requirements
The investigating agency arrested Gangwar on August 29 for his alleged role in the examination leak. Under standard legal provisions governing public servants, the CID requires prior government sanction before it can formally initiate prosecution and place the former official on trial.
Securing this formal approval from the competent authority represents a mandatory procedural threshold for the prosecution. The decision of the state government on the submitted request will dictate the trajectory of future legal proceedings against the former controller.
Proceedings Follow Apex Court Remarks
The move to seek prosecution approval gained momentum after the Supreme Court observed on October 13 that chargesheets could proceed against the accused persons detained by the agency. Armed with those judicial observations, the CID initiated formal communication with the state administration.
The state government has not yet confirmed whether the required sanction has been granted, nor has it indicated a definitive timeline for resolving the application. All charges against Gangwar remain subject to judicial determination, and the allegations must be established through the trial process before the court.
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