The Crime Branch has summoned Kerala PSC chairman M R Baiju for questioning on October 28. The inquiry intensified after the High Court criticised delays in probing recruitment irregularities.Image used for representational purposes onlyThiruvananthapuram,Oct 26, 2026 17:04 ISTThe Crime Branch has summoned Kerala Public Service Commission chairman M R Baiju for questioning over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations and appointments, news agency Press Trust of India reported, citing sources.The notice asked Baiju to appear on October 28.
The agency also questioned three PSC members on Monday as part of its investigation, officials told PTI.Notices were issued to two other commission members, asking them to appear for questioning on October 27, according to sources.The decision to question the commission members was taken to speed up the investigation after the Kerala High Court recently criticised the agency over the slow progress of the probe. Officials told PTI that notices had been issued to all commission members and that the agency aimed to complete their questioning within a week.The Kerala government had formed a Crime Branch Special Investigation Team to investigate alleged irregularities in a PSC recruitment examination for posts in the Kerala State Planning Board.
The investigation found that 10 descriptive questions in Economics, carrying a total of 58 marks, had not been assigned to the appropriate evaluators because of errors in the On Screen Marking system. As a result, the answer sheets were not evaluated.A revaluation was conducted following a complaint by Shyam Krishna, who had initially secured the third rank.
After the revaluation, he moved to the first rank. Arun J Pradeep, who had initially secured the first rank, dropped to fifth place, officials said.The Crime Branch recently expanded its investigation to three other PSC recruitment examinations over suspected irregularities.
The agency had earlier sought to question PSC members, but they declined to appear, citing the commission's status as a statutory body.The Kerala High Court subsequently criticised both the PSC and the Crime Branch and expressed concern over the slow pace of the investigation.Former Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar had reportedly written to the President of India shortly before leaving office, recommending Baiju's removal as PSC chairman over alleged irregularities in the recruitment body.The Crime Branch is now seeking to complete the questioning of all PSC members within a week as it investigates the alleged examination and recruitment irregularities.- Ends