The Kerala government has withdrawn the suspension of two senior IAS officers, B Ashok and N Prasanth, while allowing the disciplinary proceedings against them to continue under existing service rules. According to orders issued by the General Administration Department and shared by the Chief Minister's Office on Sunday, the decision came after a detailed review of the cases.
The suspension of both officers has been revoked with immediate effect. Fresh postings for the officers are expected to be announced soon.
B Ashok, a 1998-batch IAS officer, and N Prasanth, from the 2007 batch, had previously held important positions in the state administration. The government clarified that although the suspension orders have been lifted, the disciplinary cases initiated against them will proceed separately in line with applicable regulations.
Why were the IAS officers suspended?
Prasanth was suspended in 2024 over allegations of misconduct linked to his public comments and social media activity. Ashok was placed under suspension earlier this year after disciplinary proceedings were launched against him for alleged violations of service conduct rules, including remarks critical of the government made in the public domain.
Prasanth was suspended on November 11, 2024, for criticising Chief Secretary A Jayathilak on social media. He continued to remain under suspension after receiving multiple extensions to the disciplinary action.
In a separate case, Ashok was suspended in April following an interview in which he allegedly criticised the then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the functioning of the LDF government. The charges against him included speaking to the media without prior permission and damaging the image of the government.
Notably, Prasanth’s suspension was ordered on the same day that IAS officer K Gopalakrishnan faced disciplinary action for allegedly creating a WhatsApp group based on religion.
The latest decision restores both officers to service, ending their suspension period. However, the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings against them will be determined through the established process under service rules.
