Kerala - Kochi   

Plea against women’s quota admitted

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court, on Monday, admitted a writ petition challenging the reservation of seats for women in local bodies.

Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan, while admitting the writ petition filed by M.J. Simon of Kothamangalam, issued notice to the Union and the State governments.

Mr. Simon contended that the constitutional amendments which provided reservation of seats in local bodies for women were beyond the amending powers of Parliament under Article 368 of the Constitution. The consequent amendments made by the State government to the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and the municipalities Act were also unconstitutional. The reservation on the basis of sex to the elected posts would damage some of the basic features of the Constitution.

Acting on a petition filed by the State Beverages Corporation and the Kerala State Cooperative Consumers’ Federation (Consumerfed), the High Court made it clear that its earlier order restricting the 48-hour ban on liquor till 5 p.m. on the polling day, November 7, and on the counting day, November 10, to areas inside the three constituencies where byelections were held would be applicable to the liquor shops run by the corporation and Consumerfed also. The petitioners said the government order imposing the ban in the entire districts of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kannur was illegal.

The court directed the University of Kerala to comply with its interim order staying the university’s decision to suspend Manu Bhasker from the post of Head of the Department of Sociology. She was suspended on the ground that she had allegedly invited a person who was not a member of the Academic Council to attend a special meeting of the council held on August 17, 2009.The order came on an application filed by her seeking to enforce the stay order.

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