A. Jayathilak to succeed Sarada Muraleedharan as Chief Secretary

A. Jayathilak, a 1991 Kerala cadre officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), will be the next Chief Secretary of Kerala. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Mr. Jayathilak, who will succeed Sarada Muraleedharan when she retires on April 30, will be the 50th Chief Secretary of the State. A postgraduate in medicine, Dr. Jayathilak is currently serving as Additional Chief Secretary (Finance).

With Ms. Muraleedharan scheduled to step down at the end of April, Manoj Joshi, a 1989 batch officer who is on central deputation as Secretary, Land Resources, and Dr. Jayathilak had reportedly been in the race for the top post.

Mr. Jayathilak will hold the post till June 2026, when he is due for retirement. He started his career in the Indian Administrative Service as Subcollector, Mananthavady. Subsequently, he held various posts, including Managing Director in the Industries Department and the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation, District Collector of Kollam and Kozhikode, Chairman, Spices Board, as well as the post of Secretary, Water Resources, and Additional Chief Secretary (Disaster Management). He had also held posts in the Chhattisgarh government on inter-cadre deputation during 2002-2005.

Dr. Jayathilak will take over as Chief Secretary at a time when the State government is pushing ahead with the rehabilitation of the survivors of the Wayanad landslides of July 30, 2024. His tenure will also be keenly watched, among other things, for developments related to the controversy surrounding IAS officer N. Prasanth’s suspension.

Mr. Prasanth had levelled serious allegations against Dr. Jayathilak, accusing him of obstructing his service and fabricating documents to implicate him in wrongdoing. Mr. Prasanth, who is still under suspension, had served legal notices on Dr. Jayathilak, Chief Secretary Ms. Muraleedharan, IAS officer K. Gopalakrishnan and a Malayalam daily accusing them of “fabrication of documents, criminal conspiracy, abetment and violation of criminal laws.”