2008 Kerala University recruitment case: 7 including ex-VC face prosecution; 130 recruits still in service

Thiruvananthapuram: A move by the previous government to close the 2008 Kerala University assistant recruitment case has failed, with prosecution proceedings proposed against seven former university officials and syndicate members.

The Crime Branch has completed its reinvestigation and forwarded the file to Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) H Venkatesh for approval to file a chargesheet. The case is expected to reach the Vigilance Court once he approves the report.

The seven people proposed for prosecution include former Vice-Chancellor M K Ramachandran Nair, former Pro-Vice-Chancellor V Jayaprakash, former Registrar K A Hashim and former syndicate members A A Rasheed, B S Rajeev, K A Andrew and M P Russell. Rajeev, a former CPM leader, is no longer alive.

The allegations concern the recruitment of university assistants following a written examination attended by around 40,000 candidates. Investigators allege that the optical mark recognition (OMR) answer sheets were destroyed and the subsequent interview process was manipulated to favour CPM sympathisers and relatives of senior officials.

Mathrubhumi first reported the development.

During the previous government's tenure, the Crime Branch, acting on legal advice, filed a report before the Vigilance Court in Thiruvananthapuram recommending that the case be closed. The report cited the lack of sufficient evidence to establish that the answer sheets had gone missing and said those responsible could not be identified.

The court, however, refused to accept the closure report. Vigilance Court judge G Gopakumar ordered a reinvestigation to identify those responsible for the alleged examination fraud.

The reinvestigation report has now reached the Crime Branch chief, with prosecution recommended against the seven former university officials and syndicate members.

Marred recruitment process

The selection process came under scrutiny over the composition of the rank list and the way marks were awarded. Of the 160 candidates on the list, 110 were from Thiruvananthapuram district. In three instances, two people from the same household secured appointments.

Those included in the list reportedly comprised an SFI leader who had held a university union post and sought repeated revaluation to clear in postgraduate exams, children of CPM leaders, close relatives of the former Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, and children of office-bearers of CPM-backed teachers' and non-teaching staff organisations.

The list had raised suspicions from the outset.

The written examination carried 100 marks, which were subsequently scaled down to 75. The interview accounted for the remaining 25 marks. It was the first time an interview had been introduced for the university assistant recruitment process.

According to the allegations, candidates who performed well in the written examination were pushed down the rank list after receiving only two or four marks in the interview. Some candidates who had ranked lower in the written test were awarded more than 20 interview marks, helping them move up the list.

Investigators also found that the answer sheets had been destroyed.

The investigation found copies of lists containing the names of candidates who had not attended the examination, instead of the original lists prepared by invigilators. Investigators alleged that the records had been manipulated to allow favoured candidates to be included in the selection process in place of absentees.

The Crime Branch concluded that some people who had not taken the examination had also found their way onto the rank list.

Of the 1,401 candidates included in the rank list, 181 were appointed. Some left their jobs after the case emerged, while others have since retired. Around 130 of those recruited remain in service.