Kerala High Court Weekly Round-Up : January 26 - February 01, 2026

Nominal Index [Citations: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 49 - 62]Kerala High Court Gazetted Officers' Association v. State of Kerala and Ors., 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 49XX v Union Territory of Lakshadweep and Anr., 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 50Balu Gopalakrishnan v State of Kerala and Ors. and connected matters, 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 51Safwan Adhur v. State of Kerala, 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 52Shyjal C. v. State of Kerala, 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 53XXX v. The Kollam Bar Association and Ors., 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 54Jossy Chacko v State of Kerala and Ors., 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 55Sanoop V.V. v. State of Kerala and Ors., 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 56T.P. Nandakumar v. State of Kerala and Anr., 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 57Suo Motu v. State of Kerala and Ors., 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 58Manoj and Ors. v. The District Collector and Ors., 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 59Shaji Sebastian v. Julie Joseph, 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 60The Admission Supervisory Committee For Medical Education v. Karthik Dev R. and Ors., 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 61Umesh and Anr. v. State of Kerala and Ors., 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 62Judgments/Orders This WeekHigh Courts Work Even On Holidays, Denial Of Compensatory Leave To Its Officers Illegal, Violates Article 229: Kerala High CourtCase Title: Kerala High Court Gazetted Officers' Association v. State of Kerala and Ors.Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 49The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (January 28) held that denial of compensatory leave to the Gazetted Officers of the High Court is illegal, arbitrary and violative of Article 229 of the Constitution.Justice N. Nagaresh observed:“In High Court, the functional realities are materially different from other Government Departments. Administrative and judicial work continues even during major holidays such as Onam and Christmas. Even during holidays, vacation sittings are held, which require the full process of filing, scrutiny, allocation of cases, issue of orders and even clearing of pendency. Indexing and processing of disposed files are usually done during this holiday period. The Gazetted Officers of the High Court are required to supervise, coordinate and ensure completion of all such duties… It is declared that denial of compensatory leave to the Gazetted Officers of the High Court under Ext.P1 is illegal, arbitrary and violative of Article 229 of the Constitution of India.”POCSO Act | False 'Sexual Harassment' Allegation Won't Attract Prosecution Under Section 22: Kerala High CourtCase Title: XX v Union Territory of Lakshadweep and Anr.Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 50The Kerala High Court has held that a prosecution for making a false complaint under Section 22 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) is maintainable only if the alleged false information relates to offences under Sections 3 (penetrative sexual assault), 5 (Aggravated Penetrative Sexual Assault), 7 (Sexual Assault) or 9 (Aggravated Sexual Assault) of the Act.Justice C. Pratheep Kumar was delivering judgment in a petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, for quashing criminal proceedings initiated against two persons who were charged under Section 22 of the POCSO Act for allegedly lodging a false complaint.Kerala High Court Closes Pleas Against Sprinklr Deal, Says There Was No Data Sharing By StateCase Title: Balu Gopalakrishnan v State of Kerala and Ors. and connected mattersCitation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 51The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (28 January) closed a batch of writ petitions which questioned the data confidentiality of the State government's agreement with US-based data analytics firm Sprinklr Inc. for managing COVID-19 related data.The division bench comprising Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M, confirmed the earlier directions issued by a division bench of the Court and held that the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic justified the State's actions, though procedural lapses were noted.Telling Someone 'Go Away And Die' In Heat Of Quarrel Doesn't Amount To Abetment Of Suicide: Kerala High CourtCase Title: Safwan Adhur v. State of KeralaCitation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 52The Kerala High Court has reiterated that casual or angry utterances made during a quarrel, without the requisite mens rea, do not amount to abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code.Justice C. Pratheep Kumar, was delivering the judgement in a criminal revision petition against a Sessions Court order rejecting the application for discharge.Confession Made To Police Can't Be Used Against Co-Accused Without Independent Evidence: Kerala High Court Acquits Man In Theft CaseCase Title: Shyjal C. v. State of KeralaCitation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 53The Kerala High Court has reiterated that a confession made to the police by one accused cannot be used to convict a co-accused in the absence of an independent incriminating evidence.Justice M.B. Snehalatha was delivering a judgment in a criminal revision petition filed by the second accused in a theft case. The petitioner challenged the conviction and sentence for...

Kerala High Court Weekly Round-Up : January 26 - February 01, 2026

K. Salma Jennath

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