THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On the day when the validity of the 493 PSC rank lists ended, Public Service Commission (PSC) chairman MK Sakeer defended the decision not to extend their validity on the ground that the commission went by rules that are binding. He said the validity of the lists ends within three years of publication. The commission can only discharge its duties as per the existing laws, Sakeer told reporters at the PSC headquarters in Pattom.
Earlier, as news of the PSC chairman’s impending meeting with reporters broke, there was considerable expectation, especially among job seekers, as PSC has lately come under fire from several quarters, including the job aspirants and the Opposition UDF, over its blatant refusal to extend the validity of the rank lists. Defending the decision not to succumb to pressure from the Kerala Administrative Tribunal to extend the Last Grade Servants (various) rank holders rank list, Sakeer said the commission has a certain criterion for filling posts.
“During the Covid pandemic, PSC was able to send advice memo to 30,000 aspirants. This shows the pandemic did not affect its functioning. We decided to give appointments to the applicants of Kerala Administrative Service on November 1, Kerala Formation Day,” said Sakeer. He said the commission will file an appeal before the Kerala High Court against the Thiruvananthapuram branch of the Administrative Tribunal’s verdict to extend the validity of the LDC(lower division clerk) rank list.
But he maintained that the commission was not against applicants as 30 lakh applicants are awaiting appointments. He clarified that the commission can’t sideline them as they are relying on the commission to secure a job. The PSC chairman also had some counsel for the PSC job seekers. “Certain job aspirants are confused about the PSC laws. They need to understand them first,” he said.