Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) will inform the high court of its decision to proceed with the appointment of the first rank holder Syam Krishna in the state planning board, following the publication of a revised rank list after revaluation of the examination.PSC will submit the revised rank list and details of the revaluation to the court, explaining that errors in the earlier evaluation had been rectified and the new list has been prepared after revaluation and interviews conducted by an expert panel.The move is likely to be challenged by Arun J Prathap, who is currently working in the industry and infrastructure chief post after being advised for appointment based on the original rank list.PSC would inform the court that it has the authority to cancel an earlier appointment if irregularities connected with the commission are established. It will also submit that 10 questions carrying a total of 58 marks had not been evaluated during the original assessment. Following revaluation, Arun’s rank has dropped to fifth position, according to the revised list.The commission is expected to cancel the advice memo issued to Arun first and subsequently revoke his appointment before issuing an advice memo to Syam Krishna.However, the matter involves a legal complication. PSC rules reportedly permit removal within one year of the issuance of an advice memo. As more than a year has passed since Arun’s appointment, the question of the authority competent to terminate his service could become a point of contention. However, the commission maintains that irregularities linked to the selection process would provide grounds to cancel the earlier appointment.The examination was conducted for three chief posts in the planning board: industry and infrastructure, planning coordination and perspective planning.Arun was appointed to the industry and infrastructure post. The candidate who received an advice memo for the planning coordination post has not joined duty, while the rank list for perspective planning contains only one candidate.The revised rank list was published on Friday night, but the proposed appointment has raised questions over the legal implications of revising a selection after a candidate has already joined service.
