SIT to probe irregularities in appointment of second KAS interview panels

Thiruvananthapuram: Allegations of irregularities have surfaced over the appointment of the Public Service Commission (PSC) interview panels for the second batch of the Kerala Administrative Service (KAS). The three interview boards reportedly included members considered close to those in power as well as those with comparatively lower qualifications.

There was strong opposition to the appointments even among PSC members, but the chairman is learnt to have ignored the objections. Against this backdrop, the government has now decided to constitute a special investigation team to examine the conduct of the second KAS examination.

Ahead of one of the interviews, allegations had surfaced that an attempt was made to obtain candidates’ marks in the written examination in advance, in violation of the rules. There were also allegations that some candidates were asked to be awarded additional marks during the interview. A senior government official who attended the interview as the government representative reportedly objected to the move and protested.

The appointment of the interview panels has also come under scrutiny. To project the boards as comprising academically highly qualified members, candidates with doctorates were included, according to sources. A DYFI leader who holds a doctorate in Sanskrit and later became embroiled in a controversy over the qualification was also part of one of the panels.

The chairman of one of the three interview boards was a PSC member who had previously worked as a blood bank technician at a medical college. It was during the interviews conducted by this board that a dispute reportedly arose over the awarding of marks.

Several PSC members with higher academic or professional qualifications were not included in any of the three boards. They include V R Ramya, who holds an MTech and an LLB; advocates Bose Augustine, H Josh and C Jayachandran, who joined the commission while practising law; and K T Balabhaskaran, who had served for a long period as managing director of various public sector institutions.