Kerala High Court Weekly Round-Up: July 18 To July 24, 2022
Athira Prasad
25 July 2022 8:39 AM IST
Nominal Index [Citations 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 354-374] 1. Ibrahim v. Regional Transport Authority & Ors. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 3542. State of Kerala v. P. Gopalakrishnan alias Dileep & Anr. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 3553. Y v. Union of India & Ors. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 3564. Suo Motu v. State of Kerala & Others 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 3575. Elappully Erancheri Jama-Ath Palli & Anr v....
Nominal Index [Citations 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 354-374]
1. Ibrahim v. Regional Transport Authority & Ors. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 354
2. State of Kerala v. P. Gopalakrishnan alias Dileep & Anr. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 355
3. Y v. Union of India & Ors. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 356
4. Suo Motu v. State of Kerala & Others 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 357
5. Elappully Erancheri Jama-Ath Palli & Anr v. Mohammed Haneef & Ors. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 358
6. Aby Thomas v. Director General of Police & Ors. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 359
7. Sanalkumar v. City Police Commissioner, Kollam and others and, Sumith v. Shareef S and others. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 360
8. N. Vanaja @ Vanaja Nagendra and anr. v. Bhanumathy and others 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 361
9. State of Kerala & Anr v. K.S Govindan Nair 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 362
10. Bunker Partner OU v. MV MAIA-1 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 363
11. Prakash O.S v. State of Kerala & Ors. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 364
12. T.P Nandakumar v. State of Kerala & Anr. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 365
13. Shibu L.P v. Neelakantan & Anr. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 366
14. Ameen Saleem & anr. v. State of Kerala & ors. 2022 LiveLaw(Ker) 367
15. X v. Union of India & Ors. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 368
16. Arsho P.M v. State of Kerala 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 369
17. X v. State of Kerala 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 370
18. K. Chathu Achan v. State of Kerala & Ors. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 371
19. Kizhakkambalam Pachakkari Karshaka Sangham & Ors v. State of Kerala & Ors. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 372
20. XXX v. Registrar of Births and Dead Pathanamthitta Municipality and ors. 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 373
21. Shan S & anr. v. Marriage Officer 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 374
Judgements This Week:
Case Title: Ibrahim v. Regional Transport Authority & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 354
The Kerala High Court last week cautioned its Registry of disciplinary action if it cleared any document or file that was illegible or if the words are not printed in sufficiently large font.
Justice Amit Rawal held so while considering a petition where the font used in a document was as small as '8'. The Judge found that the document was illegible and that the Registry should not have accepted and produced before the Court the hard copy of such documents.
Case Title: State of Kerala v. P. Gopalakrishnan alias Dileep & Anr.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 355
The Kerala High Court on Monday disposed of the plea filed by the prosecution seeking 3 more weeks' time to conclude further investigation in the 2017 Actor Assault Case.
Justice Kauser Edappagath denied this request of the Crime Branch, but considering the submission made by the Director General of Prosecution, granted time till 22.07.2022 to submit the Final Report. Initially, the Court had asked the prosecution to conclude the investigation by 15th July.
Kerala High Court Allows Termination Of Minor Rape Survivor's 24 Weeks Pregnancy
Case Title: Y v. Union of India & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 356
The Kerala High Court recently came to the assistance of a minor rape survivor by paving the way for her to undergo medical termination of her pregnancy which was a result of the sexual assault committed on her.
In case the newborn is born alive, Justice V.G Arun directed the State and its agencies to assume full responsibility and offer medical support and facilities to the child, if the petitioner was not ready to assume responsibility.
Kerala High Court Initiates Suo Motu Case On Collapse Of Temple Roof During Ceremony
Case Title: Suo Motu v. State of Kerala & Others
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 357
The Kerala High Court recently initiated suo motu proceedings to look into the collapse of a portion of the concrete on the top of the Anakkottil in Valiyakalavoor Temple that fell down during the 'choroonu' ceremony injuring three people, including the mother of the baby.
A Division Bench consisting of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice P. G. Ajithkumar initiated the suo motu proceeding on the basis of a news item in the Malayalam daily, Mathrubhumi, about three devotees from a family sustaining injuries at the Valiyakalavoor Temple, which is under the management of the Travancore Devaswom Board, when a portion of the roof of the temple collapsed. The Court pulled up on the Devaswom Board for its failure to perform its statutory duty.
Case Title: Elappully Erancheri Jama-Ath Palli & Anr v. Mohammed Haneef & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 358
The Kerala High Court recently ruled that every Muslim has the right to offer prayers in any mosque or bury their dead bodies in a public khabarsthan and that this cannot be obstructed merely because they belong to a different sect.
A Division Bench of Justice S.V. Bhatti and Justice Basant Balaji was dealing with a petition filed by a wakf arguing that since some of its members had changed to a different sect, they were not entitled to offer prayers and buried their dead bodies in its property.
Case Title: Aby Thomas v. Director General of Police & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 359
The Kerala High Court recently directed the concerned District Police Chief to expeditiously resolve the grievance of a petitioner who had received a wrong laptop, delivered to him by Flipkart.
Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A disposed of the petition with a direction to the Kottayam Police Chief to take up the petitioner's complaint and redress the matter within a period of one month.
Gross Abuse Of Court's Process: Kerala High Court Dismisses Two Petitions With Exemplary Cost
Case Title: Sanalkumar v. City Police Commissioner, Kollam and others and, Sumith v. Shareef S and others.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 360
The Kerala High Court recently dismissed two petitions and imposed exemplary costs of Rs.25,000/- each to be paid to the Kerala High Court Bar Association for gross abuse of the court's process.
Justice Amit Rawal observed that the sole purpose of both petitioners was to stall the criminal proceedings pending in lower courts and therefore opened that they deserve to be dismissed with exemplary costs.
Kerala High Court Imposes Cost On Litigants For Securing Favourable Judgment By Producing False Memo
Case Title: N. Vanaja @ Vanaja Nagendra and anr. v. Bhanumathy and others
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 361
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday set aside a judgment obtained by producing a fake memo showing service of notice and imposed Rs 10,000 on the litigants who produced the fake memo.
Justice A Badharudeen, while considering the review petition, opined that it is settled law that once it is established that the order was obtained by a successful party by practising fraud, it is vitiated, and such order cannot be held legal.
Case Title: State of Kerala & Anr v. K.S Govindan Nair
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 362
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday ruled that a Selection Committee constituted to nominate a suitable candidate for a post can shortlist qualified applicants to trim down the number of such eligible applicants, provided the criteria for shortlisting do not eliminate candidates for not having qualifications that were never notified earlier.
A Division Bench of Justice A.K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Mohammed Nias C.P was dealing with a petition that questioned the validity of a shortlisting procedure adopted by the State Selection Committee for the post of Chairman of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board.
Case Title: Bunker Partner OU v. MV MAIA-1
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 363
The Kerala High Court on Monday directed a Russian vessel, MV MAIA-1 to be detained at the Cochin Port Trust for non-payment of dues to an Estonian firm, Bunker Partner OU.
Justice Sathish Ninan issued the ex-parte order against the Russian cargo ship after being prima facie satisfied that the arrest was warranted in this case.
Case Title: Prakash O.S v. State of Kerala & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 364
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday held that once paddy land is converted in due compliance with statutory mandates, the Tahsildar has to reassess the tax and make necessary entries in the Revenue records as per Section 27C of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act.
Justice N. Nagaresh found that the land reclaimed by the petitioner was admittedly paddy land and therefore, he cannot be forced to treat it as unnotified land or to approach the Revenue Divisional Officer for that matter.
Case Title: T.P Nandakumar v. State of Kerala & Anr.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 365
The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted bail to journalist T.P Nandakumar who was arrested last month on charges of verbally abusing a former woman employee and allegedly forcing her to make a vulgar video.
Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A allowed the appeal moved by the journalist primarily because the complaint submitted by the victim did not contain details of several allegations.
Case Title: Shibu L.P v. Neelakantan & Anr.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 366
The Kerala High Court on Thursday held that evidence of the power of attorney holder is not credible unless they possess due knowledge of the transaction.
Justice A. Badharudeen observed that a complainant alleging offence under Section 138 should make a specific assertion regarding the knowledge of the power of attorney holder in such transactions. The Judge added that a power of attorney holder who had no knowledge regarding the transactions cannot be examined as a witness in the case.
Kerala High Court Extends Last Date To Apply For Plus One Course In State Board Till 22nd July
Case Title: Ameen Saleem & anr. v. State of Kerala & ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw(Ker) 367
The Kerala High Court on Thursday extended till next hearing the interim order passed in the petition seeking an extension of the last date to apply for Plus One Course in the State Stream till mark sheets of the CBSE Class X Examination are published.
Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V observed that a delay of a day or two cannot be a reason to deprive the students of the State of Kerala who have been pursuing their education in the CBSE stream till Standard X, if they wish to migrate to the State Board.
Case Title: X v. Union of India & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 368
The Kerala High Court on Thursday expressed its concerns over the glaring absence of adequate sex education in schools amid the rising number of child pregnancies, which are, unfortunately, often a result of sexual abuse by close relatives.
Justice V.G. Arun thereby asked the authorities to reconsider the sex education and safe use of the internet and social media being imparted at the schools in the State.
Kerala High Court Grants Interim Bail To SFI Leader For Appearing In Exam
Case Title: Arsho P.M v. State of Kerala
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 369
The Kerala High Court on Friday granted interim bail to the State Secretary of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) who was taken into custody for the second time after he violated the bail conditions imposed on him.
Justice Viju Abraham granted interim bail to Arsho P.M till 3rd August, permitting him to appear for his exams conducted by the MG University which are scheduled from 23rd July till 3rd August.
Case Title: X v. State of Kerala
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 370
In a significant development, the Kerala High Court has notified a list of directions to the State authorities to set up a gender-neutral victim protection protocol to ensure that all survivors of sexual abuse are empowered and encouraged to approach law enforcement agencies.
Justice Devan Ramachandran issued the directions to secure the effective execution of the mechanisms already established for the benefit of the survivors such as the toll-free number 112, 24/7 access to crisis centres and legal support. The Judge also commented on the depth and complexity of the distress of a sexual assault survivor, while adding that it is to be defined.
Case Title: K. Chathu Achan v. State of Kerala & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 371
The Kerala High Court observed that mere sympathizing with a political party cannot be a disqualification for appointment as non-hereditary of a temple.
There is clear distinction between sympathizing with a political party and indulging in active participation in the activities of the party, the bench comprising Justices Anil K. Narendran and P.G. Ajithkumar observed while it dismissed a petition filed by a hereditary trustee of the Sree Emoor Bhagavathy Temple challenging the notification issued by the Commissioner of Malabar Devaswom Board that invited applications to the post of non-hereditary trustees at the temple.
Kerala Public Buildings Act | Secretary Of Panchayat Empowered To Act As Estate Officer: High Court
Case Title: Kizhakkambalam Pachakkari Karshaka Sangham & Ors v. State of Kerala & Ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 372
The Kerala High Court on Friday held that the Secretary of a Grama Panchayat is empowered to act as Estate Officer under the Kerala Public Buildings (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1968.
Justice N. Nagaresh accordingly dismissed a petition alleging that the occupants of a shopping complex were not afforded an opportunity of hearing before the Estate Officer before they were served with an eviction notice.
Case Title: XXX v. Registrar of Births and Dead Pathanamthitta Municipality and ors.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 373
In a significant order, Kerala High Court on Tuesday, while allowing a Writ Petition held that a person has the right to not specify the name of their father in identity documents.
The Court passed the order recognising the agonies faced by children of unwed mothers and rape victims. Referring to the Mahabharata charcater Karna, the Court observed in the judgment "We want a society with no such characters like "Karna," who curses his life because of the insult he faced for not knowing the whereabouts of his parents".
Kerala High Court Allows Bride To Appear Through Online Mode For The Solemnization Of The Marriage
Case Title: Shan S & anr. v. Marriage Officer
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 374
The Kerala High Court recently in a Writ Petition allowed one of the parties to appear through online mode for the solemnization of their marriage before the Marriage Officer.
Justice V.G. Arun allowed the second petitioner, who is a Canadian citizen with an Overseas Citizen of India Card to appear before the Marriage office in online mode for the solemnization of their marriage, however, this is subject to certain conditions.
Other Developments:
Remarks Against Chief Minister: State Opposes Swapna Suresh's Plea In Kerala High Court To Quash FIR
Case Title: Swapna Prabha Suresh v. State of Kerala & Anr.
The State has filed a statement before the Kerala High Court in the plea moved by Swapna Suresh seeking to quash the FIR registered against her for allegedly spreading false information against MLA K.T Jaleel, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Government.
Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the infamous gold smuggling case, had revealed to the press that several persons in the administrative higher-ups including the Chief Minister, his wife, his daughter, K.T Jaleel and many others were involved in several anti-social and anti-national activities involving the Consulate while adding that she had deposed the same before the Magistrate.
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday pulled up the Engineers for their failure to repair the potholes on the roads and ordered that if roads are damaged and potholes appear within six months from the issuance of the completion certificate, then the Engineers and the Contractors will be subjected to vigilance inquiry.
Justice Devan Ramachandran expressing his distress over the accidents occurring due to the potholes on the roads, opined that the situation would not change unless the Engineers and the Contractors were held made liable for the potholes.
Case Title: Sabarinadhan K.S v. Station House Officer & Ors.
A Kerala court on Monday released on bail State Youth Congress Vice-President K.S. Sabarinadhan in the case related to the recent protest against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on a flight at the Thiruvananthapuram airport.
Thiruvananthapuram Principal Sessions Judge P.V. Balakrishnan allowed the bail application with conditions finding that custodial interrogation of the petitioner was not required in the case since reports did not reveal any conspiracy as alleged in the case.
Kerala High Court Introduces Paperless Courts For Bail, Tax Matters From 1st August
Kerala High Court, as a part of the first phase in the implementation of paperless courts, has decided to introduce paperless courts in Bail Jurisdiction and Tax matters from 1st August.
As per the notice issued on Thursday, paperless courts are being introduced in Bail jurisdiction and Tax matters (Single Bench), and the division bench considering appeals from the said single benches.
Case Title: Treasa K.J. v. State of Kerala R
The Kerala High Court on Thursday reiterated that the rejuvenation of Mullassery Canal in Ernakulam city is to be completed, and resources for it would have to be found by the State government.
Justice Devan Ramachandran added that the resources have to be found by the Government from any source it pleases. It is necessary and imperative.
Kerala Court Issues Summons To Sonia Gandhi In Suit By Congress Member Challenging His Suspension
Case Title: Pridhwyraj P v. Sonia Gandhi & Ors.
A court in Kerala recently issued summons to Indian National Congress president Sonia Gandhi to appear in person or through a lawyer on August 3 in a plea filed by a member challenging his suspension from the party.
The Kollam Munsiff Court also issued the urgent notice for appearance to Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President K Sudhakaran as well as District Congress Committee Chief P Rajendra Prasad.
