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Petition filed against `I' group rally

By Our Special Correspondent

KOCHI Nov 12. A writ petition was filed before the Kerala High Court seeking a direction to the Director General of Police and the Kochi City Police Commissioner to prevent the rally proposed to be held by the `I' group of the Congress on November 19 in Kochi, as it would cause nuisance to the public.

The Institute of Social Welfare, a Kochi-based organisation, filed the petition. According to it, P. P. Thankachan, chairman of the Organising Committee, had declared that the rally would be attended by at least three lakh workers. It was also said that there was the likelihood of postponing the date of the rally.

If the rally was allowed, it would blatantly violate the conditions laid down by the court in the judgment banning bandh and would cause nuisance to the general public. The petitioner pointed out that after the pronouncement of the judgment, the Youth Congress party had conducted a rally in the city violating all the principles laid down by the High Court. The rally was organised by a group of followers of the Congress leader, K. Karunakaran, to show its strength.

As per a Circular issued by the DGP in 2000, applications for licence to conduct processions or demonstrations which do not satisfy the period of advance notice stipulated by the Supreme Court must be rejected.

According to the petitioner, even though the police were fully aware that the proposed rally would be in blatant violation of the judgment on bandh and Noise Rules, no steps were being taken against them.

The petition also sought to prevent the use of loudspeakers by Mr. Thankachan and his agents, members, followers and sympathisers.

HC notice to AG

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court today issued notice to the Advocate General on a report sent in by the Thiruvananthapuram Chief Judicial Magistrate seeking police protection for the functioning of a mobile court in Thiruvananthapuram.

The notice was issued by the Bench comprising the Chief Justice J. L. Gupta and Justice K. Padmanabhan Nair while treating the report sent by the CJM at the request of the mobile court Judge (Judicial First Class Magistrate) as a writ petition. According to the report, the court was not able to function on September 27, 30 and October 1 owing to public protests over the wearing of helmets.

Order on church dispute

A Division Bench comprising Justices K.A. Abdul Gafoor and J.M. Jame ordered that the Catholicose faction of the St. Peters and St. Pauls Church, Kunnamkulam, could organise the annual church festival on November 13 and 14 while the Patriarch faction could conduct the festival on November 15 and 16. The order was passed when a writ petition seeking police protection for the conduct of festival filed by the Patriarch faction came up before the Bench.

New Judge appointed

Justice N. K.Sodhi of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has been transferred to the Kerala High Court. The Judge has been requested to take charge on or before November 26.

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