Appointment of PSC Secretary delayed

Papers of commission’s nominee allegedly missing

The alleged bid to subvert a decision of the Public Service Commission to appoint its examination controller and internal vigilance officer as the new Secretary has triggered a row.

Sources told The Hindu here that anticipating the retirement of the incumbent on January 31, 2015, a meeting of the commission held on September 22 decided to appoint Saju George, a Scheduled Tribe officer, who is presently officiating as examination controller and internal vigilance officer as the new Secretary. But implementation of the decision was delayed, allegedly by the PSC higher-ups, on the premise that the credentials pertaining to his appointment such as caste certificate, copies of the SSLC book and degree certificate were missing from the Special Recruitment section.

Recruitment process

On noticing the delay, another meeting of the commission held on November 24 expressed its strong discontent and deep concern for the laxity in carrying out the decision.

As per rules, the Secretary should be appointed by the commission and ratified by the Governor. The meeting also resolved to seek an explanation from the present Secretary for failing to execute the resolution in time.

The Special Recruitment Section then asked Mr. George to furnish copies of the relevant documents since they were missing. It also clarified that when he sought the documents under Right to Information Act last year also he was informed that they were missing.

Mr. George is understood to have furnished copies of the documents and sought an inquiry into the issue. Mr. George had been holding a very pivotal position which is responsible for the conduct of the examinations. Scheduling of examinations, preparation and printing of question papers are some of his key responsibilities.

There are complaints that the officer, even after furnishing the documents, was told to go on leave from December 16 and the responsibilities he had been holding were delegated to two additional secretaries. But, in a letter to the Secretary on December 17, Mr. George clarified that he had neither submitted a leave letter nor applied for leave, sources said.

The alleged attempt to undermine such a crucial decision of the commission is being cited as unprecedented and is likely to figure at its meeting on Monday, the sources said.