The Kerala High Court on Monday reserved its order on a petition filed by the Kerala Public Service Commission challenging a government-ordered investigation into alleged irregularities in a recruitment examination for a senior Kerala State Planning Board post.
The case relates to the written examination held to appoint the chief of the Planning Board’s industry and infrastructure division. The alleged irregularity came to light after it was found that answers to 10 questions had not been evaluated during the examination process.
Following the discovery, the Kerala government ordered the registration of a case and an investigation into the conduct and evaluation of the examination. The PSC subsequently approached the High Court, challenging the government order and the investigation involving its members and officials.
During Monday’s hearing, the court orally emphasised the need for transparency in competitive examinations conducted by the PSC. The court observed that a lack of transparency would destroy the expectations of future generations, according to the report.
The PSC argued that the government order amounted to a sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act for conducting an inquiry against its members and officials. It contended that the state government did not have the authority to grant such sanction in cases involving PSC members.
The state government opposed that interpretation, submitting that the order was not a sanction order. It told the court that the case had been registered against officials and that none of the PSC members had been arrayed as accused.
Director General of Prosecution T Asaf Ali also questioned whether the PSC had the authority to challenge a government order directing an investigation into a case registered against officials. The court, in turn, orally questioned why the commission was opposing an investigation into the alleged examination fraud.
The dispute has placed the examination and evaluation procedures of the state’s public recruitment system under judicial scrutiny. The post at the centre of the case is within the Kerala State Planning Board, which advises the state on planning and development matters, including areas linked to industry and infrastructure.
The High Court’s reserved order will determine the immediate legal position on the government-directed investigation and the PSC’s challenge to it.
