Prime accused are being spared without questioning, remarks Kerala HC on PSC exam irregularities case

Kerala High Court front view.

The Kerala High Court has orally remarked that the prime accused in the alleged irregularities in the Kerala Public Services Commission’s (KPSC) Planning Board examination were being spared without being questioned.

Justice A. Badharudeen added the complainant, in the application before the Kerala Administrative Tribunal challenging the omission of some questions in the examination valuation, as a party to the case before the High Court. The Court opined that the complainant, V. S. Jayalal, should be added as a party to address his grievances regarding the exam revaluation as well.

The PSC had approached the Court to quash the prosecution sanction granted by the government against the Commission’s employees, and the FIR registered in the case with the Crime Branch.

The Court orally remarked that the investigation was not progressing properly, and that the valid documents required for investigation were not taken into custody. The Court stated that it had not restricted the investigation, and the government was free to inquire into the matter, but the investigation was being stalled or proceeding slowly.

The irregularities were alleged in the evaluation process of the examination conducted to appoint the Chief (Industry and Infrastructure Division) in the Kerala State Planning Board. The KPSC had stated that it had taken measures to rectify the identified errors in the evaluation process. Some questions under the subject of Economics were not allotted to the appropriate evaluators, which resulted in their non-assessment.

The re-evaluation for the Planning Board post led to a serious change in the rank list. Shyam Krishnan, who ranked third initially, moved up to first rank, while Arun J. Pratap, who had secured the top position, dropped down to fifth place.