Uttarakhand Public Service Commission chairman resigns citing "personal reasons"

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Public Service Commission chairman Rakesh Kumar has resigned within 18 months of appointment citing "personal reasons".

Kumar, a retired IAS officer, was appointed in December 2021 for a six-year term. His short tenure was full of challenges with three examinations conducted by the Commission being cancelled over paper leak allegations.

Kumar tendered his resignation on June 7 and it has been accepted by Governor Lt Gen (retd) Gurmit Singh, official sources said on Sunday.

Though Kumar said he was resigning due to personal reasons, his move triggered speculation in the media if he was under pressure.

It was during his tenure that the commission was assigned the additional responsibility of conducting Group C recruitment examinations which were earlier under the ambit of the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) after the latter got embroiled in the paper leak cases.

The additional responsibility of conducting group C examinations was handed over to the UKPSC by the state government for the sake of transparency.

However, three examinations held by the commission during his tenure had to be cancelled after their papers were leaked.

In further setback to the commission's reputation, the involvement of its two section officers was also found in the paper leak cases.