HC declines former Chief Secretary’s plea seeking exemption from personal appearance

Court exempts Palakkad Collector from personal appearance on condition that she will appear through virtual mode

The Kerala High Court on Thursday declined, for the time being, a plea made by former Chief Secretary V. Venu seeking to dispense with his personal appearance in a contempt of court case initiated for not enforcing the court directive to take possession of six churches under the control of the Jacobite faction vicars.

Justice V.G. Arun observed that Mr. Venu’s plea for exempting him from the contempt of court proceedings as he had retired from service is a legal question to be decided at a later stage. If he has got personal reasons for not appearing, the government pleader can inform the court on Friday.

The court, however, exempted the Palakkad Collector from personal appearance on condition that she will appear through virtual mode. She sought the exemption on the ground that she is holding the charge of district election officer for the byelection in the Palakkad Assembly constituency.

The former Chief Secretary in his affidavit said that several attempts were made to grant police protection for taking possession of the six churches. But all those were thwarted by the supporters of the Jacobite faction who outnumbered the supporters of the Orthodox faction. As the Jacobite faction had put up a strong resistance with children, women, and aged people, any police action would have caused serious casualties and bloodshed. Therefore, the police had to withdraw from the premises of the churches.

Published - November 07, 2024 08:32 pm IST