Kerala extends IAS officer N. Prasanth’s suspension, reinstates Gopalakrishnan pending disciplinary action

Suspended IAS officer N. Prasanth (file)
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Kerala government has extended IAS officer N. Prasanth’s suspension for 120 days, starting Friday (January 10, 2025). It has revoked the suspension of K. Gopalakrishnan, IAS, pending disciplinary action.

In November, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan suspended the two officials on separate charges of official misconduct, neglect of service rules, and impropriety based on an inquiry report from Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan.

Subsequently, the government constituted a suspension review committee (SRC) under the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969 to review the temporary debarment of the two officials from service. 

On Thursday (January 9, 2025), the government accepted the committee’s decision to lengthen Mr. Prasanth’s extension period. It also approved the SRC’s proposal to reinstate Mr. Gopalakrishnan in service, pending departmental action.

Mr. Prasanth had run afoul with the government for allegedly accusing Additional Chief Secretary for Taxes, A. Jayathilak, of propagating a “false narrative” through a Malayalam daily that he played truant from work. 

In her inquiry report, Ms. Muraleedharan took strong exception to Mr. Prasanth’s alleged reference to Mr. Jayathilak as a “psychopath.”

Ms. Muraleedharan concluded that Mr. Prasanth’s actions had caused “irreparable injury” to the government.

She noted that Mr. Prasanth’s allegedly combative social media posts and accusatory interactions with the media had a “deleterious effect” on the administration and “cast shadows of doubt” on the Civil Services. 

Charge memo

Consequently, Ms. Muraleedharan slapped a damning charge memo on Mr. Prasanth, accusing the bureaucrat of “public vilification (of colleagues), irresponsible behaviour unbecoming of an officer, scant regard for the service’s cohesion, grave indiscipline, insubordination, and violation of high ethical standards, integrity, honesty, accountability, good behaviour, and courtesy”. 

The SRC later concluded that Mr. Prasanth learned little from his suspension from service and continued to “mislead” the public to garner publicity.

‘Mallu Hindu’ WhatsApp group

Mr. Gopalakrishnan had come under departmental scrutiny for allegedly creating a WhatsApp group of civil servants titled ‘Mallu Hindu’. 

News reports of the alleged existence of a Civil Services group based on religious and linguistic lines wrongfooted the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the final campaign phase of the byelections in the Chelakkara and Palakkad Assembly constituencies and the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat. 

A subsequent inquiry by Mr. Muraleedharan found the IAS officer prima facie guilty of “fomenting division, sowing disunity and breaking the solidarity of the All India Services cadre in the State.”

Ms. Muraleedharan also accused Mr. Gopalakrishnan of “creating communal formations and alignments within the All India Services” cadre. 

Criminal case closed

The State Police also found little merit in Mr. Gopalakrishnan’s contention that anonymous persons had hacked his mobile phone. A cyber forensic analysis by the police found that someone reset the phone to its original factory settings after the scandal broke.

A senior official told The Hindu that the police had recently closed the case against Mr. Gopalakrishnan based on a legal opinion that the investigation revealed no cognisable offence.