Justice A. Badharudeen passed the order in a petition alleging that these officials were involved in the illegal appointments of bodybuilders Shinu Chova and Chitharesh Natesan as inspectors in the police department.

"Therefore, there shall be a direction to the 2nd respondent to consider the grant of prior approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, as submitted by the learned Special Government Pleader, within a period of two weeks".

During the proceedings, the Court noted that the petitioner had produced a communication dated July 6, 2026, from the Deputy Secretary to the Additional Chief Secretary, stating that the allegations against senior police officers had been found "baseless and devoid of merit" and that the prescribed procedures had been duly followed.

However, the Court also took note of a report filed by the Superintendent of Police, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), Southern Range, Thiruvananthapuram, which stated that a detailed preliminary enquiry would be conducted after obtaining prior sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Appearing for the VACB, the Special Government Pleader sought two weeks' time for the Government to consider granting the mandatory prior approval under Section 17A. Accepting the request, the High Court directed the second respondent to take a decision on the issue within two weeks.

The matter has been posted for further consideration on August 3.

The petition is moved by Advocates V. Sethunath, Thomas Abraham and Sreeganesh U.

Case No: WP(Crl.) 968/2026

Case Title: Adv. K.M. Shajahan v. State of Kerala and Ors.