The Kerala government has issued a charge memo to IAS officer N Prasanth, who was suspended in November this year following social media comments targeting Additional Chief Secretary Dr A Jayathilak. The memo was issued by Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan on Saturday, December 7, citing a violation of service rules.
Prasanth was suspended from the post of special secretary in the Agriculture Department on November 11, following a report by the Chief Secretary after he publicly mocked and challenged senior bureaucrat Dr A Jayathilak, vowing to continue exposing ‘misdeeds’.
The spat involving Prashant and Jayathilak started after a Mathrubhumi report said that files went missing from Unnathi, a state-government initiative for the social and economic development of students belonging to SC/ST communities. The report said that Jayathilak had then prepared an adverse report about Prasanth, who headed the initiative.
Following this, Prashant used social media posts and media appearances to accuse Jayathilak of potentially ruining the careers of subordinates who do not comply with his directives.
The memo found that the officer’s actions violated the provisions of the All India Service (Conduct) Rules 1968. The actions mentioned in the memo include public vilification; irresponsible behaviour; indiscipline; insubordination; violation of tough ethical standards, integrity, honesty and accountability; lack of courtesy and good behaviour; and his attempts to defend his actions through the press and social media.
The memo specifically addressed Prasanth's online remarks describing Jayathilak as “mentally ill,” which were deemed a prima facie breach of professional conduct. It said, “Prasanth is citing official matters for waging a personal vendetta against Dr A Jayathilak IAS.”
The government also observed that by giving interviews to Malayalam news channels “with a view to mislead and garner publicity,” Prasanth repeatedly violated several provisions of the All India Service Conduct Rules, 1968.
It also noted that Prasanth’s actions on social media were an attempt to build a narrative against other IAS officers, stating that his actions were “undermining the administrative machinery and tarnishing the reputation of Government among the general public causing irreparable injury to Government.”