28 October 2026
Kerala's former Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has recommended to President Droupadi Murmu the removal of Kerala Public Service Commission chairman M R Baiju and the Commission's 15 members on the ground of misbehaviour. The recommendation was sent on 15 October 2026, about a week before he was relieved of charge in Kerala on 23 October. The State government is now weighing its options should the President act on it.
Article 317(1) of the Constitution allows the President to remove the chairman or a member of a State Public Service Commission for misbehaviour only after a reference to the Supreme Court and a report by that Court that the person ought to be removed. Under Article 316 a member of a State Public Service Commission holds office for six years or until the age of 62. Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has told the Assembly that no such reference or inquiry has taken place.
The ground is the evaluation of a Commission examination for Chief posts, in which 228 answer sheets were found to carry unevaluated descriptive questions. The lapse came to light when a rank holder, K Shyam Krishnan, obtained his answer sheet under the Right to Information Act. A Crime Branch investigation is under way.
Article invoked:
Article 317(1)
Recommended by:
Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, then Governor of Kerala
Sent to:
President Droupadi Murmu
Date of recommendation:
15 October 2026
PSC chairman:
M R Baiju
Answer sheets involved:
228
Why it matters for exams: Article 317 and Article 316 — the removal procedure and the term of a State Public Service Commission member — are standard Polity questions, and this is the first time the procedure has been invoked in Kerala.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
PSC Public Service Commission — A constitutional body under Articles 315 to 323 that conducts recruitment to the civil services.
28 October 2026
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. of the Kerala High Court has issued notice to the State on two public interest petitions against a notification that places the T1 and T2 sections of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau outside the Right to Information Act, 2005. The notification was published in the Kerala Gazette on 22 October 2026.
The Court did not stay the notification. It asked the State to file an affidavit setting out the categories of information held by T1 and T2, and to clarify whether information about vigilance inquiries against government officials falls within them. The petitions are WP(PIL) 215/2026 by Adv. P.K. Muralikrishnan, a former legal adviser to the Bureau, and WP(PIL) 216/2026 by Joy Kaitharath. They are listed for hearing on 18 November.
Section 24(4) of the Right to Information Act allows a State Government to exempt intelligence and security organisations it specifies by notification, except in matters of corruption and human rights violations. The petitioners rely on a Supreme Court ruling that a special police establishment investigating corruption is not an intelligence or security organisation.
Court:
High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam
Bench:
Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M.
Provision:
Section 24(4), Right to Information Act, 2005
Notification date:
22 October 2026
Next hearing:
18 November
Why it matters for exams: Section 24(4) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 — the power of a State Government to exempt an intelligence or security organisation, with corruption and human rights carved out — is a recurring Polity and law question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
VACB Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau — Kerala's agency for corruption cases, working chiefly under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
RTI Right to Information — The Right to Information Act, 2005 gives a citizen access to records held by a public authority.
28 October 2026
Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan told the Kerala Legislative Assembly that the State's capital expenditure has risen by 57 per cent. He was replying to the discussion on the supplementary demands for grants.
On preliminary Accountant General figures up to September 2026, he put total revenue growth at about Rs20,000 crore, or 21.12 per cent. Own tax revenue rose by Rs6,486 crore, or 16.54 per cent, and non-tax revenue by 71.96 per cent, adding Rs4,295 crore.
Supplementary demands for grants are moved when the amount authorised by the annual Appropriation Act for a service is found insufficient for that financial year. Article 205 of the Constitution requires the Governor to cause a supplementary statement of expenditure to be laid before the House, which votes on it in the same way as the annual budget. The accounts the figures come from are compiled by the Accountant General, who works under the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Capital expenditure growth:
57 per cent
Total revenue growth:
21.12%
Own tax revenue rise:
Rs6,486 crore
Non-tax revenue rise:
71.96%
Constitutional provision:
Article 205
Why it matters for exams: Article 205 and the supplementary demands for grants are a standard question on the budget process, and the Accountant General's place under the Comptroller and Auditor General is asked with it.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Supplementary demands for grants Supplementary demands for grants — A fresh demand placed before the legislature when the sum voted for a service in the annual budget falls short.
28 October 2026
The Kerala High Court has held that the time limit for temples and other owners to register captive elephants with the district-level committee cannot be extended. The ruling is reported as Ravi E. v. State of Kerala, 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 590.
The registration requirement comes from the Kerala Captive Elephant (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2012, framed under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The Rules require an owner to obtain an ownership certificate, keep a record of the animal and present it before a district-level committee, and they fix the conditions under which a captive elephant may be used.
Rules:
Kerala Captive Elephant (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2012
Citation:
2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 590
Registering authority:
District-level committee
Why it matters for exams: The Kerala Captive Elephant (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2012 and the parent Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 are asked in both environment and Kerala-specific law questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Captive elephant Captive elephant — An elephant held in ownership, which in Kerala must be registered and carry an ownership certificate.
28 October 2026
The Kerala High Court has held that the State cannot escape liability for death, injury or damage caused by wild animals. Justice Mohammed Nias C P dismissed the Forest Department's appeal against a civil decree in favour of the family of a man killed in a wild animal attack in Wayanad.
The court held that the State is the custodian and deemed owner of all wildlife, and that failing to keep wild animals out of human habitation infringes the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. Compensation is therefore available even where a claimant falls outside a government scheme or a statutory provision, and the ex gratia amount the government sanctions does not cap what a court may award. The court said authorities should take reasonable precautions such as trenches and boundary fencing.
Court:
Kerala High Court
Judge:
Justice Mohammed Nias C P
Constitutional provision:
Article 21
District:
Wayanad
Why it matters for exams: Forests and the protection of wild animals and birds sit in the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule — a standard Polity question that this Kerala ruling turns on.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Concurrent List List III, Seventh Schedule — Subjects on which both Parliament and a State legislature may make law.
28 October 2026
Justice A. Badharudeen of the Kerala High Court has posted for final hearing on 2 November the Kerala Public Service Commission's petition against the Crime Branch case on its examination evaluation. The petition is Kerala Public Service Commission and Anr. v. State of Kerala and Anr., WP(Crl.) 1497/2026.
The FIR is registered under Section 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — criminal breach of trust — and under Section 7(c) and Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The State granted sanction to prosecute under Section 17A of that Act, the provision that requires prior approval of the competent authority before a police officer may even inquire into a decision taken by a public servant in the discharge of official functions.
The Commission asks the Court to quash the sanction and the FIR, and to declare that the Commission and its staff are not persons employed in connection with the affairs of the State, so the State cannot sanction their prosecution. Director General of Prosecution T.A. Asaf Ali told the Court the plea is not maintainable and that the investigation is progressing. The post at issue was notified in 2022 and a shortlist of 10 candidates was published in February 2025; a preliminary inquiry was ordered in June 2026.
Case:
WP(Crl.) 1497/2026
Judge:
Justice A. Badharudeen
Sanction provision:
Section 17A, Prevention of Corruption Act
BNS section:
Section 316(5), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Next hearing:
2 November 2026
Why it matters for exams: Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 — prior approval before an inquiry into a public servant's official decision — and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replacing the Indian Penal Code are both frequent law questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
BNS Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita — The 2023 criminal code that replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Background
The examination at the centre of the move to remove the Kerala Public Service Commission's chairman was for the post of Chief in the Industry and Infrastructure Division of the Kerala State Planning Board. The Board itself is a standing institution of the State government.
The Chief Minister is its Chairperson; V.D. Satheesan holds the post. K.M. Chandrasekhar is Vice-Chairperson and Gokul G.R. IAS is Member Secretary. The Board is made up of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson, ministers and non-minister members and the Member Secretary, with the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) as permanent invitees. Its term runs with the term of the government.
The Board works through seven technical divisions — Agriculture, Project Coordination, Perspective Planning, Decentralised Planning, Analysis, Industry and Infrastructure, and Social Services — besides Administration, Library and an IT Wing. It prepares the State's Five-Year Plans, Annual Plans, approach papers and the Economic Review, and is now empanelling consultants for the 15th Five-Year Plan, 2027 to 2032.
Chairperson:
The Chief Minister of Kerala
Vice-Chairperson:
K.M. Chandrasekhar
Member Secretary:
Gokul G.R. IAS
Technical divisions:
7
Plan being prepared:
15th Five-Year Plan (2027-32)
Why it matters for exams: Who chairs the Kerala State Planning Board, and the plan documents it writes — the Economic Review and the Five-Year Plan — are asked directly in Kerala PSC papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Economic Review Economic Review — The annual survey of the State economy that the Kerala State Planning Board publishes.
Background
NATPAC has carried out an inspection in Kozhikode city to work out why its roads flood during rain. The body doing the study is a permanent research institution of the State.
NATPAC is the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre, also written KSCSTE-NATPAC because it functions under the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Government of Kerala. It has worked since 1976. Its head office is the K. Karunakaran Transpark at Aakkulam, Thuruvikkal, Thiruvananthapuram 695 011, and it has regional offices at Ernakulam and Kozhikode.
It is the State's standing agency for traffic and transport studies — road and rail planning, inland water transport, traffic engineering and road safety — and its reports are used by local bodies and State departments when they plan roads and drainage.
Full name:
National Transportation Planning and Research Centre
Parent council:
Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE)
Working since:
1976
Head office:
K. Karunakaran Transpark, Aakkulam, Thiruvananthapuram
Regional offices:
Ernakulam and Kozhikode
Why it matters for exams: The expansion of NATPAC and the council it sits under, KSCSTE, are standard Kerala PSC questions on State scientific institutions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
NATPAC National Transportation Planning and Research Centre — Kerala's research centre for traffic and transport planning, under KSCSTE.
KSCSTE Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment — The State council that runs Kerala's science research institutions.
Background
The transport study now under way on Kozhikode's waterlogged roads is the kind of work a city Corporation takes to a State agency. Kozhikode is one of only six Corporations in Kerala.
The Local Self Government Department puts the State's local bodies at 1,200 in all: 941 Grama Panchayats, 152 Block Panchayats, 14 District Panchayats, 87 Municipalities and 6 Corporations. The three tiers of panchayats and the urban bodies together carry out development work identified through Grama Sabhas.
The department's major allied departments are the Panchayat Directorate, the Directorate of Urban Affairs, the Commissionerate of Rural Development and the Town and Country Planning Department. Its wings cover accountability, development, establishment, institutions, finance, election matters, regulation, parliamentary matters and engineering.
Total local bodies:
1,200
Grama Panchayats:
941
Block Panchayats:
152
District Panchayats:
14
Municipalities:
87
Corporations:
6
Why it matters for exams: The exact count of Kerala's local bodies — 941 Grama Panchayats, 152 Block Panchayats, 14 District Panchayats, 87 Municipalities and 6 Corporations — is a direct Kerala PSC question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Grama Sabha Grama Sabha — The assembly of all voters in a ward of a Grama Panchayat, where local projects are identified.