Kerala - Kochi   

Action against Kannur jail superintendent High court round-up

Kochi: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court directed the Superintendent of Central Prison, Kannur, on Wednesday to appear in person on October 10 before the court to explain about the false statement filed by him in a case relating to indiscriminate grant of parole to life convicts. The Bench, comprising Justices J.B. Koshy and K. Padmanabhan Nair, directed the State government to take disciplinary action against the official.

The court said the superintendent submitted in the statement that a convict was granted ordinary leave for 30 days in 2005. But it was found that the convict went on leave on July 2 and returned only on December 2. In the case of two other convicts, the superintendent gave a false statement regarding their leave.

The court said there was a limit for making such a false statement. The superintendent was an authoritative officer and he should not have filed it without verification.

The Bench directed the Inspector-General of Police (Prisons) to go through the statement of the superintendent and file a statement regarding the issue. The court ordered him to see that no false statement was filed.

A Bench, comprising Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice K.T. Sanakaran, allowed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to implead as a respondent in a writ petition filed by Friends of Environment secretary D.B. Binu, challenging the order on de-notification of Merchiston Estate.

ISRO said that if the court passed an order without hearing it, the organisation would be affected. The court also directed the government and other respondents to file their counter-affidavits with two weeks. ISRO said the land bought for setting up the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IISST) was outside the ecologically fragile area.

The public exchequer would lose Rs. 1crore if the land deal was rescinded.

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