KOCHI: The High Court on Monday observed that corruption had taken place in the evaluation of the PSC Planning Board examination, questioning the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) on whether answer scripts were withheld from candidates to prevent the public from learning about the alleged irregularities.
“Were copies of the answer scripts denied to candidates to ensure that the public did not come to know of the malpractice?” the court asked the PSC.
The court said the issue affected tens of thousands of job aspirants and stressed the need to protect the future of young people who worked hard to take the examinations. It said the PSC should cooperate with the investigation without fearing scrutiny.
The commission contended that the government had no authority to order an investigation against it and that prior sanction from the President of India was required.
The PSC submitted that the government’s order was illegal, as prior approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act was required before initiating an investigation against a public servant.
The government informed the court that more than 180 complaints had been received against the PSC in connection with the evaluation of the Planning Board examination, and that FIRs had already been registered in three of them.
ILL IN JAIL, BUT CAN GO ABROAD, HC BLASTS THACHANKARY
The High Court on Monday questioned former Keralam DGP Tomin J Thachankary’s request to travel abroad to rejoin his job, and observed “When he goes to jail, he has serious illnesses. Once released, he has no difficulty travelling to Saudi Arabia or America.
How can this be?” Justice A Badharudeen made the remarks while considering Thachankary’s petition seeking modification of a bail condition that bars him from leaving India without permission. The High Court also directed the jail superintendent to submit a report detailing the total number of days Thachankary was admitted to the jail hospital.
