The suspension orders issued by the Kerala government against two IAS officers, K Gopalakrishnan and N Prashant, cite violations of service rules and serious indiscipline, alleging that the former’s action sowed disunity within the All India Service Cadre, while the latter’s conduct undermined the public image of the state’s administrative machinery.Gopalakrishnan was suspended for creating a religion-based WhatsApp group for government officials, and Prashant faced action for publicly criticising a senior IAS officer on social media.
In the suspension orders issued late Monday night, the government made it clear that the act of both civil service officers amounted to grave indiscipline and violation of various sections of the All India Service Conduct Rules, 1968.
The order said that it has come to the notice of the government that a WhatsApp group was created recently, of which Gopalakrishnan, Director of Industries, was stated to be the administrator of the said group.
The order, issued by Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan, further stated that a police inquiry revealed that there was no evidence indicating that the mobile phone of Gopalakrishnan was hacked, as claimed by the officer.
It is also revealed that a repeated factory reset of the mobile phone was done by the officer himself before submitting his phones for forensic examination, according to the order.
“The Government, prima facie, is of the view that the said WhatsApp Group created by Gopalakrishnan K was intended to foment division, sow disunity and break the solidarity within the cadres of the All India Services in the State,” it said.