Kerala High Court flags stalled probe and adds exam complainant as party

The Kerala High Court said the prime accused in the KPSC Planning Board exam irregularities are being spared without being questioned. Justice A. Badharudeen ordered that V. S. Jayalal, who filed the re‑valuation petition in the Kerala Administrative Tribunal, be added as a party in the High Court case so his grievances can be heard. The Kerala Public Services Commission had asked the court to cancel the prosecution sanction that the state government imposed on several commission employees, and the Crime Branch had already filed an FIR. The court noted that the investigation is moving slowly, that key documents have not been taken into custody, and that it has not barred the government from continuing the probe. The irregularities relate to the evaluation of the exam for the post of Chief of the Industry and Infrastructure Division of the Kerala State Planning Board. The commission admitted that some economics questions were not given to the right evaluators, leading to those questions being left unassessed. After a fresh re‑evaluation, the rank list changed dramatically: Shyam Krishnan rose from third place to first, while Arun J. Pratap fell from the top spot to fifth. The KPSC said it has taken steps to correct the identified errors in the evaluation process. ## Context The case highlights how lapses in exam administration can affect career‑defining posts and trigger legal scrutiny, while also showing the court’s role in ensuring that investigations are not stalled.