Kerala High Court Dismisses PIL Against Arundhati Roy's 'Mother Mary Comes To Me'

The Kerala High Court on Monday (October 13) dismissed the Public Interest Litigation filed seeking action against author Arundhati Roy's book 'Mother Mary Comes To Me' for having a photo of the author smoking on the cover. The petitioner had sought a stay on the book's sale without statutory label.Division bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji pronounced in open...

Kerala High Court Issues Notice On Film Producer Sheela Kurian's Plea Seeking Action Against Cop For 'Improper Behaviour'

Film producer Sheela Kurian has moved the Kerala High Court seeking action against Deputy Superintendent of Police, Madhu Babu alleging improper behaviour by him when she visited his office in connection with a criminal complaint.When the matter came up for consideration before Justice G. Girish on Thursday, the judge take time to the prosecutor to take instructions in the case and issued...

S. 263(1) & S. 269(1) BNSS | Court Cannot Prepare Format Of Charge & Merely Fill Details Of Case In Vacant Space: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently set aside an order of a Magistrate Court, which had framed the charges in printed format with the name and other details of the accused inserted in writing.Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan observed that the framing of charges ought to have been done in writing, in accordance with Sections 263(1) and 269(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita/ Sections 240(1)...

Ensure Competent Officers Are Posted In Vigilance & Anti-Corruption Bureau: Kerala High Court Tells Authorities

The Kerala High Court recently observed that the Director General of Police and the Director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) must ensure that competent officers are posted in the VACB.Justice A. Badharudeen was considering a petition challenging the vigilance proceedings initiated against two government officials for an alleged case of demand of bribe. The prosecution...

Kerala High Court Directs Nodal Agency To Consider Inclusion Of Non-Resident Returnees In NORKA-CARE Health Insurance Scheme

The Kerala High Court has directed NORKA Roots to consider the inclusion of Non-Resident Keralite (NRK) returnees in its recently launched NORKA-CARE Group Health and Accident Insurance Scheme.NORKA Roots is a nodal agency for all matters concerning collaboration with the government of Kerala to address grievances on Non-Resident Keralites. Justice N Nagaresh gave the directions while disposing...

Kerala High Court Grants Bail To 70-Year-Old Man Booked For Allegedly Hunting & Killing Leopard In Reserve Forest

The Kerala High Court on Thursday (October 9) granted regular bail to a 70-year-old man, who is accused of killing a leopard in a reserve forest by laying a cable trap.Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas allowed the petition taking into consideration the period of custody undergone, the absence of antecedents and the advanced age of the petitioner. The petitioner was arrayed as an accused in O.R....

Kerala High Court Seeks Details On TDB–NIC MoU For Digital Governance Of Devaswom Institution

The Kerala High Court has sought details of the Memorandum of Understanding between National Informatics Centre and Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for computerisation and digital governance for managing temple administration.The directions were given by the division bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K.V. Jayakumar, while considering a matter concerning the...

'How Can Doctors Work In Insecurity?': Kerala High Court Seeks Report On Safety Of Hospital Staff After Attack On Doctor

The Kerala High Court on Friday (October 10) orally directed the state government to submit a report to ensure the safety of doctors, medical personnel and all attendant staff in hospitals. The observation was made in the light of a recent attack on a doctor in Kozhikode. He was attacked using a sharp weapon by the father of a girl, who died of amoebic fever and was treated by the...

Printing Digital Images/Letters On Paper Constitutes Services, Attracts 18% GST Not 12%: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that printing digital images/letters on paper constitutes services, and attracts 18% GST not 12%.The question before the bench was to determine whether the assessee's printing activities ie. converting the figures, letters, photographs etc., in a digital form, into physical format by printing it on paper were liable to GST at 12% or 18%.Justice Ziyad Rahman...

Kerala High Court Says Munambam Land Was Not Intended To Be Waqf

The Kerala High Court has held that the 1950 endowment deed executed by Mohammed Siddique Sait in favour of the Farooq College Managing Committee was not a waqf deed but a simple gift deed, never intended to create a permanent dedication of property in favour of Almighty God.A Division Bench comprising Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. observed thus while...

Munambam Land Dispute | Waqf Board Didn't Come Forward, Litigants Opposing Inquiry With 'Ulterior Purpose': Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Friday (October 10) observed that the litigants who had approached the court challenging appointment of inquiry commission by the state in the Munambam land dispute were only masquerading for certain other interested parties having "ulterior purposes".The court made the observation while allowing two appeals filed by the State Government challenging a March 17...

Forgery Conviction Cannot Be Sustained On Sole Testimony Of Person Claiming Familiarity With Accused's Handwriting: Kerala High Court Reiterates

The Kerala High Court has reaffirmed that conditions under Section 47 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 must be satisfied to sustain the conviction for forgery or related offences, and the sole testimony of a witness claiming familiarity with the handwriting of the accused do not suffice. Justice A. Badharudeen delivered the judgment while allowing appeals challenging a conviction in...