Kerala Crime Branch investigates PSC recruitment irregularities
Former PSC Deputy Secretary P. Satheesh was arrested following an inquiry into evaluation errors in a state planning board recruitment.
The Kerala Crime Branch and a Special Investigation Team are investigating alleged irregularities in the recruitment of the Chief of the Industry and Infrastructure Division for the Kerala State Planning Board. The issue involves the evaluation of answer scripts following a 2022 notification and the publication of a ten-candidate shortlist in February 2025.
An internal inquiry reportedly found that substantial portions of 228 answer scripts were not evaluated. According to the inquiry, questions carrying 58 marks were left unevaluated, including question nine in 177 scripts and questions ten to eighteen in all 228 scripts.
On October 28, 2026, former PSC Deputy Secretary P. Satheesh was arrested in connection with the investigation. Kerala PSC Chairman M.
R. Baiju also appeared before the Crime Branch for questioning.
Additional Secretary R. Hari, who was associated with the examination wing, has been named as an accused and suspended. Investigators are currently looking into his whereabouts.
Veteran political observer Joseph C Mathew said the situation represents political high-handedness within a constitutional framework that undermines democratic values. He alleged the ruling party places loyalists in the recruitment body to secure positions for its people in the bureaucracy and police force.
The investigation aims to determine if the evaluation omissions were administrative negligence or deliberate wrongdoing. The State Information Commission had previously directed the disclosure of recruitment records following a Right to Information request.