Kochi, August 11: The Kerala High Court has placed a one-month stay on an order issued by the State Information Commission. This order directed the Public Service Commission (PSC) to disclose records related to alleged irregularities in the Kerala State Planning Board recruitment examination.
The court has also issued a notice to the complainant, Shyam Krishna from Thiruvananthapuram, whose Right to Information (RTI) application prompted the Information Commission’s directive.
The PSC challenged the Information Commission’s order through a writ petition. They argued that the selection process is not yet complete, and disclosing examination records at this stage could compromise the confidentiality of the recruitment process.
The PSC informed the High Court that the interview, which is part of the selection process, is still pending. They stated that examination records could be released only after the selection process concludes. Their argument emphasized that premature disclosure could affect the fairness and confidentiality of the examination.
After hearing the PSC’s arguments, the High Court granted a one-month stay on the Information Commission’s order.
This case originated from an RTI application filed by Shyam Krishna, in which he requested all records related to the examination, including answer scripts and interview score lists.
In response to his complaint, the Information Commissioner had instructed the PSC to provide the requested documents. However, the PSC did not comply with this order. The Information Commissioner had criticized the PSC for failing to adhere to the directive and expressed frustration over the delay in providing the records.
The High Court’s intervention comes amid an ongoing standoff between the PSC and the Information Commission regarding the release of documents.
Previously, the PSC’s writ petition faced a technical hurdle. The High Court directed the Commission to rectify the deficiencies in the petition and refile it.
Following this, the court heard the case and considered the PSC’s argument that the selection process is still ongoing. The one-month stay temporarily halts the Information Commission’s directive to release the examination records.
The PSC has been asked to respond to the challenge from the complainant, and further proceedings will determine whether the documents can be made public before the selection process is completed.
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