Suspended IAS officer Prasanth N serves legal notice to Jayathilak, K Gopalakrishnan & Sarada Muralidharan

In a significant development, suspended IAS officer Prasanth N sent legal notices to suspended IAS officer K Gopalakrishnan and Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue Department Dr A Jayathilak and Chief Secretary Sarada Muralidharan on Friday. The notice, issued on behalf of Prasanth N, Special Secretary to the Department of Agriculture (currently under suspension), alleges deliberate fabrication of documents, orchestration of false news reports, and defamation aimed at damaging his reputation.

The notice alleges that documents implicating Prasanth N in the disappearance of key files related to the Unnathi project were fabricated. It claims the alleged letters, supposedly authored by K Gopalakrishnan and addressed to Dr Jayathilak, lacked official letterheads, numbering, and proper protocols, indicating potential post-facto manipulation. These letters were reportedly uploaded to the government’s e-Office portal on the same date, raising questions about their authenticity.

The notice also accuses a mediahouse for publishing false reports based on a unilateral and unauthorised inquiry report allegedly submitted by Dr Jayathilak. These reports claimed anomalies in attendance records and the disappearance of project-related files. The notice alleges these publications caused severe damage to Prasanth N’s professional and personal reputation.

The allegations assert that files related to the Unnathi project had been properly handed over to the SC/ST Development Department, with documented receipt by Dr Jayathilak. Claims that Prasanth N withheld documents or was involved in anomalies are termed as “deliberate lies.”

The notice says that the controversy was created by K Gopalakrishnan and Dr Jayathilak in a conspiracy to deflect attention from controversies surrounding their tenure, including a communal WhatsApp group controversy. Sarada Muralidharan, as the Chief Secretary, is alleged to have failed in taking action against these illegalities despite being in a position to verify the facts.

The notice outlines violations of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, and provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. It demands immediate corrective measures, including a public apology from the accused parties, a thorough investigation into the allegations against K Gopalakrishnan and Dr Jayathilak, and suspension of Dr Jayathilak pending inquiry to safeguard evidence.

Prasanth was suspended last month after he made personal remarks on social media against Dr A Jayathilak. He accused Jayathilak him of ruining the careers and lives of subordinates who failed to follow his directives. He also described his superior officer as mentally ill and called him a ‘psychopath.’ Prasanth's insult came while a report was filed by Jayathilak against him regarding the Unnathi initiative, which was under the consideration of the Chief Minister. News reports recently emerged that the files related to Unnathi (Kerala Empowerment Society), an organisation formed for the welfare and implementation of various schemes for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, are missing. Jayathilak has submitted a report to the Chief Minister stating that Unnathi's functioning has come to a standstill.