Former Keralam PSC official arrested over alleged irregularities in Planning Board exam

The KPSC office in Thiruvananthapuram (file) | Photo Credit: The Hindu The Crime Branch investigating the alleged irregularities in an examination conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) arrested former deputy secretary P. Satheesh in connection with the case on Wednesday (October 28, 2026).Mr. Satheesh, who was recently named an accused in the case pertaining to a Kerala State Planning Board examination, was apprehended from Kozhikode. The accused, who had retired from service last year, was reportedly in charge of the PSC’s examination wing and responsible for the evaluation process of the controversial examination.Also Read: Three Kerala PSC members appear before Crime Branch for questioning in exam fraud probeThe Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the Crime Branch had recently booked the retired official, along with another senior PSC functionary, R. Hari, additional secretary, in the case. The government subsequently suspended Mr. Hari pending further proceedings, while initiating steps to withhold Mr. Satheesh’s retirement benefits.The police action has been initiated, with the Kerala PSC chairperson M. R. Baiju expected to appear for questioning later in the day.The controversyThe controversy relates to an examination conducted by the PSC on July 13, 2023 for three senior positions in the State Planning Board: Chief of Industry and Infrastructure, Chief of Perspective Planning, and Chief of Planning Coordination.A total of 228 candidates appeared for the examination. The issue came to light when some candidates sought copies of their answer scripts under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and discovered that several descriptive answers had not been evaluated during the digital on-screen marking process.The disputed paper contained 28 questions, of which 10 questions carrying a total of 58 marks were allegedly left unevaluated. The PSC’s preliminary verification reportedly found that the same questions had not been evaluated in the answer scripts of all 228 candidates. The failure to evaluate the questions affected the relative scores and rankings of candidates who had competed for the posts.The initial controversy centred on the selection of Arun J. Prathap, who secured the first rank for the Chief (Industry and Infrastructure) position and was appointed in June 2025. The SIT’s findings indicated that proper evaluation of the omitted answers could have substantially altered the ranking.The first arrest in the case comes against the backdrop of the Kerala High Court questioning the progress of the probe and pressing for more decisive action.The investigation has progressed beyond the officials directly responsible for evaluation. The SIT commenced questioning PSC members a few days ago. The statements of members S.A. Saif and S. Sreekumar have been recorded by the Crime Branch.The State government has received nearly 190 complaints regarding the alleged irregularities in various PSC examinations. Investigators have also been examining other recruitment processes, including examinations associated with the Fisheries Department, the Khadi Board and the Motor Vehicles Department. Published - October 28, 2026 02:24 pm IST