Thiruvananthapuram: For the first time in Kerala's bureaucratic history, legal notice has been served to the chief secretary by a subordinate for not taking action against his colleague.
IAS officer N Prashanth has sent a legal notice to state chief secretary Sarada Muraleedharan, additional chief secretary A Jayathilak, industries director K Gopalakrishnan and a local newspaper, accusing them for forgery and criminal conspiracy against him. Also, the officer has demanded a public apology and called for a detailed investigation into the allegations.
The notice claimed that the alleged conspiracy was orchestrated by Gopalakrishnan and Jayathilak. It alleged that Jayathilak had prepared a one-sided report accusing Prashanth, former CEO of the government institution Unnati, of hiding files and forging attendance records.
Prashanth has alleged that the report was created without government approval or supporting documentation, and the letters cited in the report were fabricated. He claimed that the issue was brought to the attention of Muraleedharan on November 14 but no action was taken. He alleged that Jayathilak and Gopalakrishnan were allowed to continue their actions without facing any consequences.
The legal notice also implicates a daily newspaper of publishing news related to the alleged conspiracy. Prashanth has warned that he will pursue further legal action if his demands are not met.
The dispute surfaced following allegations that Prashanth failed to hand over files to the newly appointed CEO Gopalakrishnan after his transfer from Unnati. This led to a public clash between Prashanth, Jayathilak, and Gopalakrishnan, with Prashanth slamming them on Facebook.
After this, the chief secretary ordered Prashanth's suspension for publicly criticising senior officials. Sources within the civil services have noted that this is the first instance in Kerala's bureaucratic history of a subordinate taking legal action against his superiors.
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