Party Service Commission? Irregularities alleged in assistant information officer recruitment

Thiruvananthapuram: The recruitment process for the post of Assistant Information Officer conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) during the final phase of the Pinarayi Vijayan government's tenure has landed in a major controversy. Allegations have surfaced that eligibility criteria were altered to benefit candidates in the rank list and that fake work-experience certificates were made with the assistance of officials from the Public Relations Department (PRD).

The post requires candidates to have two years of experience in the field of journalism. However, it is alleged that PRD officials helped even empanelled employees under the Prism project—who were otherwise ineligible—obtain experience certificates. Around 100 candidates are said to have had their qualification records altered in this manner, including 15 candidates in the current rank list.

According to the allegations, when it became apparent that the PSC would not accept certificates describing candidates as "casual labourers," officials allegedly replaced those entries with "permanent" or "temporary" employees. Files marked "Very Urgent" and processed on December 29, 2025, reportedly show that the PRD Director approved the requests on the very same day the candidates submitted their applications, raising serious questions about procedural irregularities.

The current rank list reportedly includes former SFI leaders and relatives of senior figures in the previous government. Reports also claim that the candidate ranked first on the main list had submitted an experience certificate obtained through these alleged irregularities. Critics argue that although the PSC is a constitutional body, political interference has effectively turned it into a "Party Service Commission."

Following a complaint filed by candidate Jisha Elizabeth, the Administrative Tribunal has stayed the recruitment process. The tribunal is understood to have granted the stay after finding prima facie evidence of irregularities during its examination of the records. Reports further state that the matter has been brought to the attention of Minister O J Janeesh and is expected to be discussed in detail at the upcoming Cabinet meeting.