Reveal source of screenshots used in memo: Suspended IAS officer Prasanth in letter to CS

Mail This Article
Prasanth N, the Kerala IAS official who has been placed under suspension following his insinuating comments against Additional Chief Secretary A Jayathilak has shot off another missive to the Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan pressing his right to access digital files as part of furnishing reply to the memo served against him.
In the letter, Prasanth said that the inability to provide him access to the original authenticated/unaltered digital material that has been cited in the inputations would imply that the government does not possess the same and it is relying on a private individual and it is reluctant to certify the secondary evidence in the form of printouts as it would reveal the source of the screenshots used to frame the Articles of Charges.
"As primary evidence of the social media posts is not provided, certification of the secondary evidence in the form of printouts of screenshots has to be done by the private person from whose device the screenshots have been obtained. Disclosure of the details regarding the private person who took the screenshots and how it entered the official files would also become relevant information," Prasanth said in the letter.
Earlier he sought a clarification from the Chief Secretary after he was served Articles of Charges following his suspension. He had posed questions and sought reasons for his suspension in the letter. In his latest communication to the CS, he cites that he is being denied access to the original digital material which he needs to mount a 'meaningful and appropriate' defence to the memo. The General Administration department sent a letter to Prasanth on January 4, saying that the rules do not include any procedure with respect to seeking clarifications/questionnaire by a delinquent officer on the Articles of charges and statement of imputations'. Prasanth refuted in the letter that this was forgetful of the fact that natural justice and constitutional rights are not required to be mentioned in any rules.
He also quotes a line from the memo issued by the CS, which says, "In case you wish to pursue/take copies of any relevant records arraigned in the accompanying statement of imputations, you may do so under prior intimation on any of the working days during office hours from the office concerned".
Prasanth had requested access to the digital material saying that it was relied upon for initiating disciplinary proceedings against him. According to him, the screenshot copies enclosed in the memo are digitally altered.