Kerala PSC Chairman MR Baiju refuses to appear before Crime Branch again

Kerala Public Service Commission Entrance in Thiruvananthapuram | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) chairman MR Baiju on Tuesday (November 10) again refused to appear before the Crime Branch’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) for questioning in connection with alleged irregularities in the screening of senior posts in the State Planning Board.

He reiterated his stand that he would appear for questioning only after the Kerala High Court passes an order on a petition challenging the criminal police investigation.

The PSC chairman was directed to report to the crime branch headquarters in the state capital at 2.30 pm. However, he told the SIT that he would wait for the High Court’s decision before cooperating with the interrogation. The investigation team is expected to take the matter to the notice of the high court.

This is the third notice issued by the crime branch to Mr. Baiju in connection with the case. While appearing for the first round of questioning, he refused to take note of the following notice.

PSC Additional Secretary R. Hari and former Deputy Secretary P. Satheesh were arrested in connection with the case. The SIT reportedly planned to interrogate Mr. Baija along with the accused to ascertain the sequence of events and determine the extent of responsibility of senior officials for the alleged crime.

Besides, the SIT is probing the chairman’s knowledge of the alleged irregularities and the decisions he took after the matter came to light. In particular, the statements recorded from some members of the PSC have reportedly raised serious questions about the chairman’s conduct in dealing with the matter.

According to these findings collected by the SIT, a senior official was allegedly aware of irregularities in the examination but failed to initiate appropriate disciplinary or administrative action against the officials concerned.

Some PSC members also alleged that Mr. Baiju often took decisions unilaterally without properly consulting other members of the commission.

Official sources said a decision on whether to formally include Mr. Baija as an accused in the case would be taken after further questioning and examination of available evidence.

Published – 10 Nov 2026 18:39 IST