Kochi Oct 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Kerala High Court on Saturday questioned the progress of the probe into alleged irregularities in a Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) examination for a senior post in the State Planning Board.
The court asked how an investigation could proceed without questioning the key person involved in the selection process.
The court also observed that if the PSC and the government were “Bhai bhai” (like brothers), people would have reasons to suspect the process.
The observations came while the court was hearing the PSC's plea to quash the Crime Branch investigation into alleged irregularities in the recruitment.
The government informed the court that the investigation was continuing.
However, it said the PSC was not cooperating with the probe.
The PSC has argued that the alleged irregularities were the result of a clerical error and that there was no deliberate attempt to manipulate the selection process.
It has sought the termination of the investigation, contending that the probe was not authorised under the applicable rules.
The government countered that there were no such rules preventing the investigation.
The court posted the case to October 27 for further consideration.
The case relates to the recruitment of a Chief for the Industry and Infrastructure Division of the State Planning Board.
The PSC conducted the examination in July 2023, and the selection process came under scrutiny after a candidate found that several questions in the answer scripts had not been evaluated.
The Crime Branch has alleged that 10 questions carrying a total of 58 marks were left unevaluated.
The lapse affected the answer scripts of candidates who appeared for the examination.
The original list placed Arun J. Prathap first, and he joined the Planning Board. Shyam Krishnan, who was third, challenged the evaluation process.
Following revaluation and interviews, he moved to the first position, while Prathap slipped to fifth.
The PSC maintains that the error was technical and unintentional.
The Crime Branch, however, is investigating whether the lapse was merely an error or whether there was deliberate wrongdoing.
The case has put the spotlight on the functioning of the PSC, which is responsible for ensuring fair and transparent recruitment to public posts.
The court's latest observations have added to the scrutiny of the Commission's response to the investigation.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz