Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) A tussle between the Kerala Public Service Commission and the Crime Branch appears to be on the cards as the recruitment panel's members are unlikely to appear before the Special Investigation Team for questioning in the Kerala State Planning Board examination irregularities case.
The 16 serving members, including Chairman M.R. Baiju, are learnt to have decided not to appear at the Crime Branch headquarters in response to the notices which will be issued to them soon.
The PSC is instead preparing to challenge the manner in which the members have been summoned, once they get the notices.
The members and the Chairman are expected to write to the Home Secretary.
They will point out that they hold constitutional posts and that the status and dignity of the constitutional institution have to be protected.
The Commission is also seeking legal opinion from senior advocates on the validity of the notices.
The issue could now develop into a larger legal confrontation between the constitutional body and the investigating agency.
The Crime Branch, however, maintains a different position.
Government legal circles point out that an investigating officer has the authority to decide where witnesses or suspects should be questioned, and a notice can be issued under criminal procedure based on the requirements of the investigation.
Being members of a constitutional institution does not, by itself, provide exemption from criminal procedure, legal sources said.
The SIT, headed by Crime Branch SP Zacharia, has decided to question the PSC members.
The latest development comes as the SIT prepares to recommend cancellation of two controversial appointments made to the Kerala State Planning Board.
The appointments are part of the wider investigation into alleged lapses in the examination and evaluation process.
The probe had earlier found serious lapses on the part of two PSC officials, one of whom has superannuated.
The state police chief has recommended departmental action against the two officials.
The SIT is now examining whether the lapses were merely administrative failures or whether there was a deliberate conspiracy to favour particular candidates.
The move to question the PSC members marks a significant expansion of the probe.
The present PSC has 16 serving members against a sanctioned strength of 21.
All the present members, including the Chairman, were appointed during the tenure of the previous Pinarayi Vijayan government.
The political backdrop could therefore add another dimension to the developing controversy.
No one has so far been formally named an accused in the examination case.
But with the PSC resisting the questioning and the SIT preparing recommendations on the two Planning Board appointments, the investigation is entering a crucial phase.
What began as a probe into examination lapses could now turn into a legal and institutional face-off.
Source: IANS
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