Anu S. Nair emerged first in the recent Kerala Civil Services examination for selection to the post of Deputy Collector, Revenue Department.
In 2005, he had “failed” in the Kerala University (KU) Assistant Grade-II examination despite scoring high. It speaks volumes about the fairness of the test taken by 43,358 university graduates for 350 job vacancies in July that year.
Subsequently, 175 were appointed. The unemployment rate in Kerala in 2005 was an estimated 19 per cent and indignant candidates, many of whom were rejected despite high scores, moved the court against the “dubious” selection process.
The Crime Branch, which investigated their complaints at the behest of the High Court, has now revealed how the hopes of many eligible young hopefuls had been dashed for the benefit of the privileged few favoured by those at the KU’s helm.
Its draft charge, recently approved by the government for prosecution, details the “methodical distortion” of the selection process to facilitate “corruption and nepotism”.
The question paper in the optical mark recognition (OMR) format was leaked. The answer sheets were valued at the private press where they were printed.
Answer sheetsThe answer sheets of the candidates earmarked for appointment were sent for valuation without separating the part detailing their identity.
At least 46 answer sheets were reported missing by evaluators at the press, who also tallied the final marks including that for the written test. Some candidates were issued two hall tickets.
The attendance sheets of candidates at examination centres, nominal rolls, were destroyed when the irregularity became public.
The answer sheets were destroyed. The answer key was published belatedly.
Interview scoreTotal marks was scaled down from 100 to 75 and the score for the interview was upped from 20 to 25 in violation of university statutes and court orders, thereby opening the door for malpractice. The interview board rarely had quorum when it met. The KU had collected Rs.43 lakh as examination fee from the candidates.
The Crime Branch submitted a tranche of documents in court as evidence and listed scores of persons, including candidates, as witnesses in its charge sheet.
ADGP S. Aananthakrishan, SP A. Akbar and Dy.SP. P. Gopakumaran Nair investigated the case.
