Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan on Friday clarified that the disciplinary hearing of IAS officer N Prasanth will be conducted in accordance with standard procedure, amid his request that the proceedings be live-streamed.

“The hearing will be held as envisaged in a case of disciplinary action,” the Chief Secretary told Onmanorama, without explicitly denying the possibility of a live stream.

In a letter dated April 4, the Chief Secretary directed Prasanth to appear in person for a hearing in her chamber on April 16 at 4.30 pm. The hearing was scheduled following a request by Prasanth himself.

Acknowledging the notice, Prasanth had written back on April 7 requesting that the hearing be audio-visually recorded in full, with a copy provided to him for reference. He also asked that the proceedings be either live-streamed on a public platform or made available for institutional archiving, citing the principles of transparency and accountability. He added that he had no objection to the disciplinary proceedings against him being made public.

In February 2025, Prasanth had informed the Chief Secretary that all future hearings related to his case should be digitally recorded and streamed. He claimed that the demand was made in the public interest.

Prasanth had earlier submitted a letter asking the Chief Secretary to hear him out and followed it up with several communications in response to the official notice — all of which went unanswered at the government level.  

In a post on social media on Thursday, Prasanth had uploaded detailed statements in which he levels serious allegations including forgery and fabrication of government records against IAS officers K Gopalakrishnan and A Jayathilak.

In his compendium of statement of defence, Prasanth alleged that Jayathilak and Gopalakrishnan engaged in a deliberate effort to manipulate official records, fabricate evidence, and circulate false information to the government and media. According to him, despite his detailed complaint submitted in November 2024, the disciplinary authority has taken no action against them.