THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Suspended IAS officer Prasanth N has issued a legal notice to chief secretary Sarada Muraleedharan and IAS officers A Jayathilak, and K Gopalakrishnan besides a vernacular newspaper, alleging grave misconduct, including document fabrication, forgery, manipulation of official records and criminal conspiracy.
Prasanth’s legal move is against an inquiry report prepared by Jayathilak, in his capacity as additional chief secretary, that held the former responsible for missing files and attendance irregularities during his tenure as the founding CEO of Unnathi, the state government’s SC/ST empowerment initiative.
According to the legal notice, the inquiry report was intended to malign Prasanth and was based on two letters that were allegedly fabricated and uploaded on the government’s e-office portal. These letters were signed by Gopalakrishnan, the then director of industries, and were allegedly uploaded in August, just before Jayathilak and Gopalakrishnan moved out of the department.
The two letters mentioned that files related to Unnathi were missing. However, the charge was proven false by a government letter that showed that both officers were in possession of all the files.
The notice said that the actions of both officers were punishable under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhitha (BNS) and also violated the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968. The vernacular daily has been served legal notice for carrying the news report on the missing files.
The legal notice also pointed out that the chief secretary was formally informed of the actions of the officers but failed to act, allowing the continued manipulation of government records by the perpetrators. The notice said the chief secretary’s actions would attract charges of abetment under the BNS. The legal notice also demanded a public apology from the accused besides a detailed inquiry into the actions of Jayathilak and Gopalakrishnan.