Crime Branch records first arrest in PSC exam scam case; Kerala PSC chairperson questioned by SIT

Kerala Public Service Commission chairperson M.R. Baiju seen leaving the State Police Headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram around 8 p.m. on Wednesday after having appeared for questioning before an SIT probing into alleged irregularities in an examination conducted by the panel.

The Crime Branch investigating the alleged irregularities in an examination conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) arrested a former deputy secretary, P. Satheesh, in connection with the case on Wednesday.

Mr. Satheesh, who was recently named an accused in the case pertaining to a Kerala State Planning Board examination, was apprehended from his home in Kozhikode to record the first arrest in the case.

The accused, who had retired from service last year, was reportedly in charge of the PSC’s examination wing and responsible for the evaluation process of the controversial examination.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the Crime Branch had recently booked the retired official, along with another senior PSC functionary, R. Hari, additional secretary, in the case. The government subsequently suspended Mr. Hari pending further proceedings, while initiating steps to withhold Mr. Satheesh’s retirement benefits. Mr. Hari is presently absconding, official sources said.

Meanwhile, Kerala PSC chairperson M.R. Baiju was questioned by the SIT led by S. Ajeetha Begum. Mr. Baiju reported at the Crime Branch headquarters, adjacent to the State Police headquarters, with police escort around 2 p.m. The official, whose questioning lasted over five hours, left the premises around 8 p.m.

The exercise delved into specifics of the examination process, with an extensive questionnaire being prepared for the questioning. Official sources did not rule out the possibility of summoning the PSC chairperson again at a later stage.

The controversy relates to an examination conducted by the Kerala PSC on July 13, 2023, for three senior positions in the State Planning Board: Chief of Industry and Infrastructure, Chief of Perspective Planning, and Chief of Planning Coordination.

A total of 228 candidates appeared for the examination. The issue came to light when some candidates sought copies of their answer scripts under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and discovered that several descriptive answers had not been evaluated during the digital on-screen marking process.

The disputed paper contained 28 questions, of which 10 questions carrying a total of 58 marks were allegedly left unevaluated. The PSC’s preliminary verification reportedly found that the same questions had not been evaluated in the answer scripts of all 228 candidates. The failure to evaluate the questions affected the relative scores and rankings of candidates who had competed for the posts.

The initial controversy centred on the selection of Arun J. Prathap, who secured the first rank for the Chief (Industry and Infrastructure) position and was appointed in June 2025. The SIT’s findings indicated that proper evaluation of the omitted answers could have substantially altered the ranking.

The first arrest in the case comes against the backdrop of the Kerala High Court questioning the progress of the probe and pressing for more decisive action.

The investigation has progressed beyond the officials directly responsible for evaluation. The SIT commenced questioning PSC members a few days ago.

The State government has received nearly 190 complaints regarding the alleged irregularities in various PSC examinations. Investigators have also been examining other recruitment processes, including examinations associated with the Fisheries department, the Khadi Board and the Motor Vehicles department.