Kerala PSC chairperson M.R. Baiju refuses to appear before Crime Branch again

The entrance to the Kerala Public Service Commission in Thiruvananthapuram | Photo Credit: SPECAIL ARRANGEMENT Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) chairperson M.R. Baiju declined to appear before the Crime Branch Special Investigation Team (SIT) for questioning in connection with alleged irregularities in examinations to senior posts in the State Planning Board again on Tuesday (November 10).He has reiterated his stance that he will appear for questioning only after the Kerala High Court delivers its order on the petition challenging the Crime Branch investigation.The PSC chairperson was directed to appear at the Crime Branch headquarters in the State capital at 2.30 p.m. However, he communicated to the SIT that he would wait for the High Court’s decision before cooperating with the questioning. The investigation team is expected to bring the matter to the attention of the High Court.This is the third notice issued by the Crime Branch to Mr. Baiju in connection with the case. While he had appeared for the first round of questioning, he refused to heed to a subsequent notice.PSC additional secretary R. Hari and former deputy secretary P. Satheesh had been arrested in connection with the case. The SIT had reportedly planned to question Mr. Baiju alongside the accused to establish the sequence of events and determine the extent of responsibility of senior officials in the alleged crime.Besides, the SIT is examining the chairperson’s knowledge of the alleged irregularities and the decisions taken by him after the issue came to light. Notably, statements recorded from certain PSC members have reportedly raised serious questions about the chairperson’s conduct in handling the issue.According to such findings gathered by the SIT, the senior official had allegedly been aware of the examination irregularities, but failed to initiate appropriate disciplinary or administrative action against the officials concerned.Some PSC members also alleged that Mr. Baiju frequently took decisions unilaterally without adequately consulting other members of the commission.Offiial sources have indicated that a decision on whether to formally include Mr. Baiju as an accused in the case will be taken after further questioning and examination of the available evidence. Published - November 10, 2026 06:39 pm IST