Kerala Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan will personally hear N. Prasanth, the IAS officer who is on suspension, on April 16.
Mr. Prasanth has been directed to appear in person before Ms. Muraleedharan in her chamber at 4.30 p.m. on April 16. Last year, Mr. Prasanth had sent bureaucratic circles into a tizzy by levelling serious allegations against Additional Chief Secretary A. Jayathilak, IAS officer K. Gopalakrishnan, and Ms. Muraleedharan and slapping them with a legal notice.
In his defence statement given to the government in February this year, Mr. Prasanth had sought a hearing that is digitally recorded and streamed live. Reportedly, the request has been granted.
Responding to the notice on personal hearing that was issued to him on April 4, Mr. Prasanth is understood to have thanked the Chief Secretary for giving him the opportunity to be heard and conceding his request for audio-visual recording and live streaming of the proceedings.
At the same time, he has stuck to his stand that the charges against him were based on unreliable digital records and that no offence or violation of disciplinary rules has been properly levelled against him. He has also maintained that the suspension order issued against him in November 2024 does not withstand procedural or legal scrutiny. He has also reiterated that Mr. Jayathilak and Mr. Gopalakrishnan were behind the action initiated against him.
The entire issue is related to an inquiry report allegedly prepared by Mr. Jayathilak blaming Mr. Prasanth for the disappearance of files related to the Unnathi project, when he was its CEO, and anomalies in his attendance record.
Mr. Prasanth had been suspended in November 2024 for alleged violation of service rules and making derogatory statements on social media against Mr. Jayathilak. In December, he had sent the legal notice to his three IAS colleagues and a Malayalam daily accusing them of “fabrication of documents, criminal conspiracy, abetment and violation of criminal laws.” In December, he had also written to the Chief Secretary seeking clarifications regarding the charge memo that was issued to him earlier this month.
In January, the Kerala government had extended Mr. Prasanth’s suspension, while revoking that of Mr. Gopalakrishnan, who had been on suspension on an unrelated issue.
Published – April 09, 2025 04:26 pm IST
