Kerala - Kochi   

Notice to Government, Civil Supplies Corporation

Staff Reporter

HIGH COURTROUND-UP

KOCHI: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the State Government and the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation on a writ petition seeking to constitute a special Vigilance team headed by an officer not below the rank of Additional Director General of Police to pursue investigation in the case relating to the storing of adulterated commodities in the corporation's godowns and retail outlets.

The Bench comprising Chief Justice Rajiv Gupta and Justice S. Siri Jagan issued notice to the respondents while admitting the petition filed by the Jayaprakash Cultural Society, Idukky. The petition sought a directive for appointment of a retired High Court judge for a comprehensive inquiry into the purchase of commodities by the corporation. The petitioner alleged that the Vigilance was not taking action to prosecute the officers of the corporation under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act for storing adulterated commodities. The cases were registered following raids conducted by the Vigilance in the godowns and retail outlets.

MLA's petition dismissed

The Bench dismissed a writ petition filed by Neelalohithadasan Nadar, MLA, against the diversion of a part of the land acquired for the Karichal-Poovar Water Supply Scheme in Kottukal village for construction of a private road.

Dismissing the petition, the court said that during the hearing, when it tried to ascertain the credibility of the petitioner, it transpired that the petitioner stood convicted in two criminal cases under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (outraging the modesty of women), an offence involving moral turpitude. Hence, the court was declining to entertain the petition. The court added that the Supreme Court had observed that courts must be careful to see that the person or body of persons who approached the courts acted with bona fide interest and not for personal or private gain.

PIL against KTDC

A public interest petition was filed before the court challenging the agreements signed by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) for taking on lease 19 apartment blocks of a private builder at Thiruvananthapuram, erecting hoarding and landscaping the compound of the KTDC in Ernakulam, and renting out a portion of the Bolgatty Palace in Kochi for setting up a handicraft showroom.

The petition was filed by Mundakkayam Sadasivan, Ernakulam district secretary of the CPI. According to him, the KTDC took the decision to take on lease the apartments when its hotels at Thiruvananthapuram had less than 50 per cent occupancy rate. The petitioner alleged that the KTDC had not given any advertisements inviting applications or tenders before taking these decisions.

Vaikam Mahadeva Temple

A Bench comprising Justice R. Bhaskaran and Justice M. Sasidharan Nambiar appointed G. Sreekumar, High Court lawyer, as advocate commissioner to supervise the works for rectifying the defects in the making of the `thiruvabharanam' for the Vaikam Mahadeva Temple. The commissioner was directed to act on the instruction of the Tantri regarding the purity of gold and all other matters relating to the making of the thiruvabharanam and see that the thiruvabharanam was restored to its pristine glory. The directives were given on a petition filed by the Kshetra Upadesaka Samithi. According to it, there was a marked difference between the new and old thiruvabharanams. Jewels were found missing from the new thiruvabharanam.

Electrocution cases

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the Chief Electrical Inspector, Electrical Inspectorate, Thiruvananthapuram to file a statement regarding the number of electrocutions that took place from January 1,2000 till today.

The report should also contain the number of persons including line staff and others injured due to electric currents.

The Bench comprising Chief Justice Rajiv Gupta and Justice S. Siri Jagan issued the directive when a writ petition seeking a direction to the Central and State Governments to institute a compensation scheme namely Electricity Accidents Claims under the Indian Electricity Act applicable to all deaths/injuries caused by electric currents on the lines of the Motor Accidents Claims. The petition was filed by Jiji Thomas, president, Sarvodaya Charitable Trust, Kottayam.

According to him, there was no mechanism to compensate deaths/accidents from Electric Power Supply (EPS) as in the case of road, rail and air accidents. So also there had been no arrangement for providing insurance cover for the consumers and the public. Accidents occurred very frequently due to various reasons such as fluctuations in power supply, faults in supply lines, touching of trees on live lines, reverse flow of electricity from generators due to the absence of change-over-switches for generators, which were very common now-a-days. The victims of electricity accidents were not adequately compensated, the petitioner said.

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