Inside the battle over Kerala PSC: a recruitment scandal becomes a constitutional showdown

The real battle over the Kerala PSC isn’t just about who cheated on an exam; it’s about who gets to fire the people who run the recruitment body. The probe has already pulled the commission’s chairman and members into the Crime Branch scanner, and now the BJP is pushing the President to sack them, a move that has split the state’s political class.

The Kerala PSC, the agency that screens lakhs of applicants for state government jobs, is at the centre of a fraud investigation that has escalated from a routine inquiry into a full-blown constitutional crisis. The Hindu reported that the chairman, M.R. Baiju, and other members are under the Crime Branch microscope, and the Hans India said investigators want to question Baiju again. The BJP, led by Chandrasekhar, has met President Droupadi Murmu to demand action under Article 317, which allows the President to remove a PSC chairman on grounds of misbehaviour.

An exam leak puts the PSC chair in the CB’s crosshairs

The immediate trigger is a leak in the PSC exam. The New Indian Express spoke to an invigilator who served at a school that was a PSC centre, conducting exams for both higher- and lower-level posts, and described a system where the sanctity of the test was compromised. The public outrage is real, with citizens losing faith in institutional governance, the paper said. But the investigation has moved beyond just finding who leaked the papers. The Crime Branch is now looking at the top leadership, specifically Baiju, and the members. That suggests the probe is not just about a rogue invigilator but about systemic failure.

The shortlist that didn’t add up

One recruitment decision has become a flashpoint. The Times of India reported that Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala ordered an inquiry into allegations of irregularities in the PSC’s selection of Jithin K.J., a former SFI worker, for the post of DSP. Mathrubhumi English reported that the SUCC chairperson R.S. Sasikumar alleged that Jithin was awarded the top rank despite failing to secure a spot on the main rank list. This specific allegation of favouritism is the kind of concrete detail that fuels the wider distrust. If a candidate can jump the line without making the official list, then the entire recruitment process is suspect.

Article 317 becomes a political weapon

The BJP’s move to involve the President is where the scandal turns political. The delegation, led by Chandrasekhar, met Murmu and urged her to initiate a Supreme Court inquiry into the PSC, invoking allegations of corruption, nepotism, and political interference, according to Asianet Newsable. They also cited a recommendation reportedly sent by former Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar. But this is contested. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the former Governor recommended the President remove the PSC chairman without informing or consulting the state government, as reported by NDTV and Outlook India. This is a key counter-point: the BJP and the former Governor argue the Centre must step in, while the state government calls the move a bypass of democratic process.

Who gets to fire the chairman?

The core question is procedural. The former Governor sent a recommendation to the President, but did he have the authority to do so without the state cabinet’s knowledge? The Chief Minister’s office argues he did not. The BJP insists he did, and that the President should act on it. The CPM state secretariat, meanwhile, has condemned the Centre over the detention of party leaders, linking the PSC issue to a broader political fight. The next step is not a court date but a decision by the President on the Article 317 recommendation. Whether Murmu acts on the former Governor’s note, or waits for the state government to move, will determine whether the Kerala PSC’s leadership stays or goes.

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Rohan Menon

Rohan Menon covers business, personal finance, markets, startups and economic developments. He breaks down complex financial and business topics into clear, easy-to-understand stories for a general audience.

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