Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Crime Branch has registered a fresh case over alleged irregularities in the Kerala Public Service Commission‘s (PSC) Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector recruitment examination after finding that 45 questions were allegedly copied verbatim from online study materials. The case is part of a widening investigation into recruitment examinations conducted by the commission, with allegations ranging from changes in eligibility conditions and flawed evaluation to favouritism and nepotism.

According to the source, the fresh case was registered on Friday following a complaint by Rahul Raj, a resident of Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district. The complaint named unidentified Kerala PSC officials and raised concerns about the conduct of the recruitment examination.

The FIR lists several alleged irregularities, including the inclusion of candidates who did not meet prescribed physical standards, changes to eligible educational qualifications and the use of questions copied from online study platforms.

The complaint further alleged that these irregularities resulted in ineligible candidates securing positions on the rank list published on September 2, 2024, thereby depriving eligible candidates of employment opportunities.

The case has been registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

FIR alleges 45 questions copied from online study platforms

One of the key allegations in the Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector examination case concerns the origin of 45 questions in the question paper.

According to the FIR, these questions were copied verbatim from online study material platforms, including Scamveda Online Study Materials and Sanfoundry.com.

The alleged copying has raised questions about the preparation and scrutiny of the examination paper. Competitive recruitment examinations are expected to follow a transparent process, with questions prepared and reviewed through established procedures. The complaint alleges that the use of questions taken directly from online materials formed part of wider irregularities in the examination.

The FIR also questioned the eligibility conditions applied during the recruitment process. It alleged that candidates who did not satisfy the prescribed physical standards were allowed to participate.

Another allegation concerns the addition of two courses to the list of eligible qualifications before the application deadline, even though those courses were not mentioned in the original recruitment notification.

The complaint claimed that these changes affected the fairness of the selection process. It alleged that candidates who were not eligible under the notified conditions were included in the final rank list, while others who met the requirements lost employment opportunities.

These are allegations recorded in the FIR and will need to be examined during the investigation. The registration of the case does not establish the guilt of the officials or candidates concerned.

Fisheries Extension Officer recruitment also under scrutiny

The Crime Branch investigation has also expanded to the recruitment examination for Fisheries Extension Officer posts in the Fisheries Department.

Officials told PTI that the Crime Branch had registered another case on October 28, naming the PSC chairman, members and officials as accused.

The case relates to a recruitment notification issued in August 2020 and a rank list published on November 28, 2022. The list remained valid until November 28, 2025.

According to the allegations, the recruitment process favoured candidates from the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) who were close to the PSC chairman, members and officials allegedly sympathetic to the CPI(M).

The Crime Branch case claims that this alleged favouritism denied other eligible candidates equal opportunities and undermined public confidence in the recruitment process.

The allegations involve the conduct of a constitutional recruitment body responsible for selecting candidates for government posts. Any finding of preferential treatment or manipulation could have implications for the credibility of the examination and selection system.

However, the claims remain part of the ongoing investigation, and the accused persons have not been established as guilty through a judicial finding.

Khadi Board and Village Oil Inspector recruitments included

The Crime Branch has also registered two cases concerning alleged irregularities and nepotism in recruitment to posts connected with the Khadi Board and the Village Oil Inspector position, as well as the State Planning Board.

These cases form part of the wider scrutiny of Kerala PSC recruitment procedures. The investigation is examining whether candidates received unfair advantages and whether established selection and evaluation procedures were followed.

The expansion of the probe indicates that investigators are looking beyond a single examination to examine allegations involving multiple recruitment processes.

The State Planning Board recruitment case has drawn particular attention because of an alleged technical error in the evaluation of descriptive answers.

State Planning Board exam faced answer-sheet evaluation error

The state government had constituted a Crime Branch Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate alleged irregularities in the PSC examination for State Planning Board posts.

During the investigation, the team 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 relating to those questions were not evaluated.

The lapse meant that candidates’ marks and positions in the rank list could have been affected by the incomplete evaluation process.

Following a complaint by Shyam Krishna, who had initially secured the third rank, a revaluation was conducted. After the reassessment, Krishna moved to the first position.

Arun J Pradeep, who had initially secured the top rank, moved down to fifth place following the revaluation, officials told PTI.

The change in rankings highlighted the consequences of the alleged technical and administrative failure. The case has also raised questions about the checks in place to ensure that every answer is evaluated before a final rank list is published.

Crime Branch widens investigation into PSC examinations

The investigation into the State Planning Board examination was subsequently expanded to cover alleged irregularities in other Kerala PSC recruitment examinations.

As part of the wider probe, two PSC officials were arrested, while the investigation team questioned PSC chairman M R Baiju and other commission members.

The questioning forms part of the effort to establish whether the alleged irregularities resulted from administrative lapses, deliberate interference or other forms of misconduct.

The fresh Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector case and the Fisheries Extension Officer investigation have added further dimensions to the probe. Investigators are now dealing with allegations involving question-paper preparation, eligibility conditions, candidate selection, evaluation procedures and possible favouritism.

The cases also concern different stages of the recruitment process. While the Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector complaint focuses on alleged copied questions and changes to eligibility conditions, the State Planning Board case involves an evaluation-system failure. The Fisheries Extension Officer case, meanwhile, concerns allegations of preferential treatment in candidate selection.

Probe raises questions over transparency in public recruitment

The widening investigation has brought the Kerala PSC’s recruitment procedures under scrutiny. The commission conducts examinations and selections for government vacancies, making transparency and consistency important to maintaining public confidence.

Candidates prepare for these examinations with the expectation that eligibility conditions will be applied uniformly and that answer sheets will be evaluated correctly. Allegations of copied questions, changes to qualifications, incomplete evaluation and favouritism can affect confidence in the selection process.

The latest case also highlights the need for proper oversight at different stages of recruitment, from issuing notifications and preparing question papers to evaluating answer sheets and publishing rank lists.

The Crime Branch is investigating several recruitment-related cases, and further action will depend on the evidence gathered. The allegations against PSC officials and others will have to be established through the legal process.

For now, the investigation has widened beyond the original State Planning Board examination to cover multiple recruitment exercises, placing the functioning and accountability of Kerala’s public recruitment system under renewed scrutiny.