Thiruvananthapuram: A move by the Crime Branch to question Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) members in the examination irregularities case has faced resistance from the commission, which has refused to have them appear before the investigating team and instead asked the agency to come to its office.

In a letter addressed to the Crime Branch IG, the PSC secretary said that, as a constitutional body, the commission’s members cannot be summoned by investigating agencies for questioning. The PSC rejected the Crime Branch’s request based on legal advice obtained on the issue.

Meanwhile, on Friday, the Crime Branch issued notices to three more PSC members, asking them to appear before the investigating team on September 15. The agency plans to question PSC chairman M R Baiju and other members as part of the probe. S A Saifeen was the first to receive a notice, followed by S Sreekumar, C K Shajib and Stanley Thomas. The notices were issued in the order in which their names appear on the commission’s list. The PSC has since informed the Crime Branch that none of the four will appear before the agency.

The probe follows allegations by candidates that irregularities occurred in several examinations in statements given to the Crime Branch.

PSC to reject Cabinet bid to extend 18 rank lists
The PSC has also decided not to approve the state Cabinet’s recommendation to extend the validity of 18 rank lists by six months. The Commission has generally resisted selective rank list extensions, with similar extensions in the past even being struck down by the Supreme Court.