Kerala High Court

3 Kerala HC judges, families narrowly escape Pahalgam terror attack

Three Kerala High Court judges and their families escaped unhurt after leaving Pahalgam just hours before a deadly terror attack that claimed 26 lives and injured many

EPFO can't deny claims for pension on basis of delayed contribution: HC

Ruling in Kerala will help 'thousands of pensioners' facing similar issue, says expert

Wayanad township rehabilitation work commences following Kerala HC order

Construction work of the township for the Wayanad landslides victims commenced early Saturday morning at the Elstone Estate near Kalpetta here. The work began a day after the Kerala High Court paved the way for the state government to take possession of the Elstone Estate land, meant for the project, after depositing an additional Rs 17.77 crore. A Wayanad district administration official said that following the High Court order on Friday, the District Disaster Management Authority held a meeting the same evening and decided to deposit the amount and take possession of the land. Thereafter, District Collector Meghashree D R and other concerned officials completed all the required formalities during the night, the official said. A representative of the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS), the main contractor of the project, told media here that the construction work has commenced and it will move forward quickly. "The first thing to be done is to construct a road

Centre, NDMA can ask banks to waive loans of Wayanad landslide victims: HC

The Kerala High Court on Thursday said that while the RBI cannot ask banks to waive the loans of Wayanad landslides victims, the Union government and the National Disaster Management Authority can do so. A bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Easwaran S said it will pass orders "nudging" the Centre and the NDMA to ask the banks to waive off the loans. The bench pointed out that the Kerala Bank had waived off the disaster victims' loans and it had an exposure of around Rs five crore. The High Court observed that if the Kerala Bank can do it, then the other banks, which have lesser exposure, can also do the same. "It only requires a bit of goading from the NDMA and the Union government," it said. The observations came in the wake of the central government filing an affidavit earlier in the week stating that according to the RBI's Master Directions on Natural Calamities, the loans of the Wayanad landslides victims can only be restructured or rescheduled. The bench also dir

Kerala HC grants bail to 10 PFI members accused in RSS leader murder case

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted bail to 10 accused PFI members in the 2022 murder case of RSS leader Srinivasan in Palakkad district. A bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and P V Balakrishnan granted the relief to Shefeek, Jafar B, Nassar, Jamsheer H, Abdul Basith, Muhammed Shefeek K, Ashraf K, Jishad B, Ashraf Moulavi and Sirajudheen. The 10 had moved the High Court against an NIA special court's decision denying them bail in the case. The detailed order is not yet available. The High Court had last year granted bail to 17 other accused PFI members in the case. Initially, 51 people were arraigned as accused in connection with the murder of Srinivasan on April 16, 2022. One among those arrested died and seven of the accused persons could not be arrested because they are absconding. Chargesheets against the remaining were filed in two phases in July and December 2022. The Centre in December 2022 had directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take up and ...

SC stays order asking govt to procure drugs for patient with rare disorder

The Supreme Court has stayed in the interim a Kerala High Court order directing the Centre to provide an additional Rs 18 lakh worth of medicines to a patient suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, beyond its Rs 50 lakh cap. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar on February 24 issued notice to the respondents on Centre's plea. "Issue notice returnable in the week commencing April 17, 2025... till the next date of hearing, there will be a stay of the order of the impugned judgment." Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare genetic disorder characterised by progressive muscle weakness and wasting, affecting the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. Under the policy, Centre can provide Rs 50 lakh for treatment to a needy patient. The high court on February 6 instructed that the SMA drug Risdiplam should be provided as a one-time measure to ensure continued treatment for 24-year-old Seba PA till the matter over its high ..

BJP leader PC George surrenders before Kerala court in hate speech case

BJP leader P C George surrendered before a court in Erattupetta in this district, on Monday in connection with a hate speech case. "We have received information that George has appeared before the court," a police officer told reporters here. George's move came as the police sought to take him into custody after the Kerala High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea. On Saturday, George had requested the police for an extension until February 24 to appear before them for investigation in connection with the hate speech case. Dismissing his petition, the High Court observed that granting bail in such a case would send the wrong message to society. George, a former MLA, was accused of delivering a hate speech against a minority community during a TV channel discussion. He approached the High Court after the Kottayam District Sessions Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea in the case registered by the Erattupetta police. The case was based on a complaint by Muhamed Shihab, a

Kerala police arrest 57 for sexually abusing a dalit girl over five years

The victim accused 62 people of blackmailing and sexually abusing her over five years. The case came to light after her teachers noticed behavioural changes and alerted child welfare authorities

Body shaming not acceptable, says Kerala HC, but grants Boby Chemmanur bail

The Kerala High Court condemned body shaming while granting bail to Boby Chemmanur, who made obscene remarks about Malayalam actor Honey Rose

Centre clears Rs 120 crore for immediate Wayanad rehabilitation: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court on Friday said the Centre has agreed to the freeing up of Rs 120 crore for immediate use by the Kerala state government in connection with the rehabilitation proceedings ongoing at Wayanad, where a massive landslide occurred on July 30 last year. While hearing a case taken on its own for prevention and management of natural disasters in the state in the wake of the landslides that devastated three villages in Wayanad district and claimed over 200 lives, a Division Bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Easwaran S recorded the Central government's consent to free up Rs 120 crore of arrears owed by the state to the Centre in airlift charges over the years. "The said amount can accordingly be used in relaxation of the SDRF/NDRF norms of the Central Government," an order of High Court stated. Additional Solicitor General of India A R L Sundaresan placed before the High Court a letter, dated January 2, of the Assistant Director (DM), Ministry of Home Affairs

Men too have 'pride and dignity', not just women: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to veteran actor-cum-director Balachandra Menon in a case accusing him of outraging the modesty of a female actor in 2007 during a film shoot, saying that men too have "pride and dignity" and not just women. The order and observation by Justice P V Kunhikrishnan came while allowing the anticipatory bail plea moved by the actor against whom the case was lodged in September this year after the release of the Justice Hema Committee report. In his plea, Menon had contended that the complaint was made after a gap of 17 years from the date of the alleged incident in 2007 and the intention was to malign his image. The court said there was "force" in his arguments as it was an admitted fact that the alleged incident happened in 2007. "It is an admitted fact that the victim filed the complaint after 17 years of the alleged incident. It is an admitted fact that the petitioner (Menon) is a known cine artist. He directed about 40 fil

Kerala govt failed to utilise central funds for Wayanad rehabilitation: BJP

The BJP on Sunday accused the Left government in Kerala of "failing" to utilise the central funds in the SDRF and the NDRF for the relief and rehabilitation of Wayanad landslide survivors and carrying out "fake propaganda" against the union government. The saffron party said that the Narendra Modi government has provided sufficient funds to Kerala through the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). "The Pinarayi government is sitting on available funds and blames the Centre," senior BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar alleged in a social media post. In a hard-hitting X post, he said the Centre has allocated over Rs 500 crore for this purpose through SDRF, which already has a balance of approximately Rs 700 crore. "The state has failed to utilise the Rs 700 crore in the calamity fund. People world over have donated to CM Relief fund. This is also not used. This is the hypocrisy of LDF and UDF, and their fake propaganda has

Wayanad landslides: SDMA figures of relief funds inaccurate, says Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court on Saturday criticised the state government and its disaster management authority (SDMA), saying their figures regarding the funds in connection with rehabilitation of the landslides-hit areas of Wayanad are "inaccurate". A bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Mohmmed Nias C P also questioned why the funds were being delayed for months and observed that it was turning into another disaster. It said when asking for assistance from the Centre, the state government should provide accurate figures. The court observed that auditing was not accurate and the funds were not being handled properly. It directed the government and the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) to submit accurate figures regarding the funds. It directed that the amount allocated from the Rs 677 crore in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for rehabilitation, the amount spent and the amount required should be placed before the court. The state government told the court that

Kerala HC criticises Centre, state on lack of clarity in Wayanad relief aid

The Kerala High Court on Friday criticised the Centre and state governments for lack of clarity regarding the disaster relief and rehabilitation fund accounts in connection with the landslides that hit Wayanad in July this year. A bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Mohmmed Nias C P directed that the Finance Officer of the State Disaster Management Authority be present in person on Saturday to present the accounts. The court also posed several queries, including how much funds were required for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the landslides-hit areas of Wayanad and the amount of financial assistance to be provided by the Centre, to which it wanted answers. The queries also included how much amount was there in the relief fund before the disaster, how much was available for use out of it and what portion of the amount allocated by the Centre was utilised. The bench said once these queries are addressed, it will issue further directions. The queries from the court ca

Hema Committee report: Kerala High Court asks SIT to appoint nodal officer

Hema Committee was formed in response to a 2017 sexual assault case involving an actor and submitted its report to the Chief Minister on December 31, 2019

Kerala HC slams Wayanad 'hartals' by LDF & UDF, calls it 'unacceptable'

The court questioned how the hartal could be justified and asked why the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF went for it

Waqf property occupants prior to 2013 amendment can't be prosecuted: HC

The Kerala High Court has observed that section 52A of the Waqf Act, which was inserted by an amendment in 2013, does not say that those in occupation of waqf property prior to that can be prosecuted for alienating such land without the Waqf Board's sanction. The observation by Justice P V Kunhikrishnan came while quashing the criminal proceedings against two officials of the Department of Posts for allegedly alienating waqf property without the Waqf Board's permission. The criminal proceedings were initiated against the officials on a complaint by the Kerala State Waqf Board. Quashing the criminal proceedings pending before a magisterial court in Kozhikode, the High Court said the post office was functioning on the waqf property since 1999 and section 52A of the Act does not show that a person who is in occupation of such land even prior to the insertion of the provision were liable to be prosecuted. "Hence, I am of the considered opinion that the prosecution against the petitione

Probe into cases related to Hema Committee report progressing well: HC

The Kerala High Court on Thursday said the investigation into the various cases in connection with the revelations of sexual assault and harassment in the Justice Hema Committee report was progressing well. A special division bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and C S Sudha made the observation after the state government filed a report indicating the progress in the probe in 26 FIRs registered in connection with the revelations in the report. The court also appointed an amicus curiae to collect and coordinate the various reports, suggestions and draft legislation relating to the issue of sexual harassment in the film industry. The bench was hearing several petitions related to the report of the panel. The Advocate General (AG) appearing for the state and the police told the court that of the 26 FIRs registered in connection with the revelations in the report, in five, the complainants are refusing to cooperate with the investigation and in three, the complainants said their

Uttering unpleasant words against woman not insult to modesty: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court has quashed a criminal case against film director Sreekumar Menon who was accused by a prominent Malayalam actress of abusing and defaming her, saying that mere utterances of unpleasant words against a woman would not result in insult to her modesty. The order by Justice S Manu came on the plea by Menon, who is the director of the 2018 Indian Malayalam-language fantasy drama film 'Odiyan' starring Mohanlal. The female actor had alleged that the director had engaged in defaming her during the shooting, promotion and release of the film 'Odiyan' in which she too had a role. She had also alleged that he behaved in an indecent manner with her and mentally harassed her at the shooting locations. She later claimed that Menon also used abusive words against her in front of people at Dubai airport. Based on her complaint, an FIR under sections 354D (stalking), 294(b) (use of obscene words in a public place) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty

HC stays proceedings on BJP Kerala chief's discharge in poll bribery case

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday stayed further proceedings in connection with the discharge of BJP state president K Surendran and five others by a sessions court from the Manjeshwaram election bribery case. Justice K Babu admitted the criminal revenue petition moved against the sessions court's October 5 order by the state government. "Admit. Further proceedings stayed. Post on November 8," the High Court said. On October 5, Surendran and the others were discharged by Kasaragod Sessions Judge Sanu S Panicker. The sessions judge, allowing the discharge plea of the accused, had said that the first accused -- Surendran -- was discharged of the offences under various provisions of the IPC and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (prevention of atrocities) Act 1989. "Since the first accused is discharged of the alleged offences, I do not find any grounds to proceed against the other accused also. Hence, they are also discharged of all the alleged offences," the sessions court ha