Kerala PSC Digs In, Refuses Crime Branch Summons

(MENAFN- IANS) Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 14 (IANS) The confrontation between the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Crime Branch over the probe into alleged irregularities in appointments to the State Planning Board is set to intensify, with the Commission deciding not to send its members to the Crime Branch headquarters for questioning.

The PSC is instead preparing to challenge the Crime Branch notice in court, setting the stage for a legal battle over the manner in which members of the constitutional body can be questioned by an investigating agency.

The decision was taken against the backdrop of a strong view within the Commission that its members were being made scapegoats for lapses in the controversial appointments.

The issue came up for discussion at the Commission's meeting on Monday, with members reiterating that they were prepared to give their statements but would do so at the PSC headquarters.

The Crime Branch, however, has stood its ground.

Four PSC members have been served notices directing them to appear before the investigating team from Tuesday.

The agency maintains that the choice of venue for questioning is within the discretion of the investigating officer and that there is no legal bar on summoning members of the PSC to its headquarters.

The Crime Branch is also understood to be considering informing the PSC that it will not shift the questioning to the Commission's headquarters, potentially deepening the stand-off.

The dispute comes at a crucial stage of the investigation into alleged irregularities in the selection process for two Planning Board appointments.

The Crime Branch had earlier identified lapses on the part of two PSC officials and is now examining whether the role of other officials and members went beyond the lapses already identified.

Of the four members served notices, three were part of the interview board for the controversial post along with PSC Chairman M.R. Baiju.

The Chairman has not been summoned so far.

The questioning of the members is considered significant by the investigating team before it decides on further action against the two PSC officials (one of who has since retired) already found to have erred.

The latest confrontation follows the first phase of the SIT probe into the PSC lapses and the recommendation to cancel the two controversial Planning Board appointments.

With the investigation now moving into its next phase, the stand-off over the venue of questioning has brought the constitutional body's institutional autonomy into the centre of the controversy.

The PSC's decision to seek judicial intervention could now determine whether the Crime Branch can insist on questioning its members at its own headquarters or whether the Commission can dictate the venue for such questioning.

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