Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has constituted a two-member panel to investigate all disciplinary actions taken against 2007-batch Kerala cadre IAS officer N Prasanth. According to an official communication dated July 22, Dr Rajan N Khobragade, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, has been appointed as the inquiry authority. Tinku Biswal, Principal Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, will serve as the presenting officer. The panel has been directed to submit its report within three months. 

Prasanth was placed under suspension on November 11, 2024, under Rule 3(1) of the All India Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1969, following allegations that he made derogatory statements against Dr A Jayathilak, the then Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue Department and now Chief Secretary.

In response to the charges, Prasanth submitted written statements of defence on January 1, 6, and 10 of 2025. However, according to the recent official communication, he did not admit to any of the charges, and the explanations he offered were deemed unsatisfactory by the government. Consequently, the state has decided to proceed with a detailed inquiry under Rule 8(6)(a) of the AIS (Discipline & Appeal) Rules. The government also stated that Prasanth’s remarks, made on social media, had "undermined the public image of the administrative machinery." 

The controversy erupted after Jayathilak submitted a report to the Chief Minister alleging that key files related to the Unnathi (Kerala Empowerment Society) initiative—meant for implementing welfare schemes for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes—had gone missing. He also claimed the organisation’s operations had come to a standstill then. Prasanth then, through a social media post, accused Jayathilak of destroying the careers and lives of subordinates who failed to comply with his directives. He went on to describe his superior as "mentally ill" and a "psychopath." At the time, Prasanth was serving as the Special Secretary in the Agriculture Department.