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HC quashes FIR against V S Achuthanandan in land allotment case

[email protected] (Agencies)
December 6, 2012

V_S_Achuthanandan

Kochi, December 6: In a relief to former Chief Minister and veteran CPI(M) leader V S Achuthanandan, the Kerala High Court today quashed the FIR against him in a land allotment issue, holding that framing a case against him on "false and frivolous" charges was unworthy of any merit.

The court said some features presented in the case were "too disturbing", that in fact "gives enough room to generate" suspicion that the machinery of vigilance is misused and abused to silence political opponents."

Justice S S Sateeshchandran, in his 64 page order, quashed the FIR against Achuthanandan, the first accused in the case, and all further proceedings against him.

The case pertains to alleged violation of norms while allotting 2.33 acres of land to T K Soman, an ex-serviceman and Achuthanandan's close relative, in Kasaragod district when he was Chief Minister heading the LDF ministry during 2006-11.

Apart from the 88-year-old leader, his personal assistant Suresh and former Revenue Minister K P Rajendran (CPI) and a couple of officials have been listed as accused in the FIR filed in a court in Kozhikode after a vigilance probe found prima facie evidence.

Achuthanandan had filed a petition, seeking quashing of the FIR.

Reacting to the verdict, Achuthanandnan said in Thiruvananthapuram that it was a 'mortal blow' to Congress-led UDF Government and its attempts to frame him in a corruption case.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said government would go ahead with legal proceedings in the case and denied it had interfered in the case with political intentions.

Victory of "truth and justice" Achuthanandan

Terming the Kerala High Court order quashing the FIR against him in a land-gift case as 'a victory of truth and justice,' former Chief Minister and CPI(M) veteran V S Achuthnandnan today said it was a 'mortal blow' to the Congress-led UDF government to frame him in a corruption case.

Reacting to the politically significant case, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said his government would go ahead with legal proceedings in the case and denied having interfered in the case with political intentions.

Significantly, the order came when the government was moving ahead with plans to file a charge sheet in the case and seek the Governor's assent to prosecute Achuthanandan.

Welcoming the order, Achuthanandan also had a veiled dig at his CPI(M) detractors, saying the case was a conspiracy by Chandy and Muslim League leader and Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty to remove him as Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and install someone else in that position.

Talking to reporters here, the 88-year-old leader said details of the conspiracy would soon surface, adding, "you (media) can also perform your role in unearthing the entire conspiracy."

Rejecting Achuthanandan's charge, Chandy said the government had at no stage intervened in the case with political intentions and had always taken the stand that the law would take its own course.

On Achuthanandan's charge that there was a conspiracy to remove him as opposition leader, Chandy said "it is not the Congress that decides who should be leader of LDF opposition."

Meanwhile, CPI state secretary Panniyan Raveendram asked the government to resign in view of the order and said the decision vindicated the LDF stand that the case was politically motivated and a move to tarnish Achuthanandan's image as a crusader against corruption.


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News Network
June 8,2020

Jaipur, Jun 8: An inquiry has been initiated against staff of a private hospital in Rajasthan's Churu district after receiving screenshots of a purported WhatsApp chat in which they allegedly discussed about not attending to Muslim patients affected by COVID-19, police said on Sunday.

Screenshots of the chat between the hospital staff had gone viral following which an investigation has been initiated, they said.

Dr Sunil Choudhary, who runs the Srichand Baradiya Rog Nidan Kendra in Sardarshahar and whose staff purportedly wrote the messages, apologised through a Facebook post, saying the hospital staff did not have any intention to hurt any religious groups.

"We have received a complaint following which we are taking action to register FIR in the matter," Churu Superintendent of Police Tejaswini Gautam said.

Sardarshahar police station SHO Mahendra Dutt Sharma said the police control room had received a complaint regarding screenshots of the chat being circulated on social media. "We are inquiring into the matter. An FIR will be registered against the names mentioned in the WhatsApp chat," Sharma said.

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News Network
January 18,2020

New Delhi, Jan 18: Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal has granted the power of detaining authority to the Delhi Police Commissioner under the National Security Act (NSA), according to a notification. The NSA allows preventive detention of an individual for months if the authorities feel that the individual is a threat to the national security, and law and order, sources said.

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3, read with clause (c) of Section 2 of the National Security Act, 1980, the Lt Governor is pleased to direct that during the period January 19 to April 18, the Delhi Police Commissioner may also exercise the powers of detaining authority under sub-section (2) of the section 3 of the aforesaid Act, the notification stated.

The notification has been issued on January 10 following the approval of the LG.

It comes at a time when the national capital has been witnessing a number of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

However, the Delhi Police said it is a routine order that has been issued in every quarter and has nothing to do with the current situation.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Kochi, Jul 30: The Kerala High Court on Thursday refused to grant the extension for the stay of a 74-year-old US citizen, Johnny Paul Pierce, who had earlier said that he felt safer to remain in India than in the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The single-judge bench of Justice CS Dias, which considered the writ petition, observed that the grant or extension of visa to foreign nationals fall exclusively within the domain of the Government of India (GoI) and that judicial review in such matters is minimal.

The power of the GoI to expel foreigners is absolute and unlimited, the bench said.

"In view of the categoric declaration of law by the Supreme Court, the plea of the petitioner to permit him to stay back in India cannot be accepted, as it falls within the purview of the guidelines and the discretion of the Government of India," the order said.

"The petitioner cannot be heard that the guidelines/policies/regulations formulated by the Government of India, that an American national though has been granted a visa having validity of five years has to leave India within 180 days, is irrational or unreasonable," it added.

The High Court, which was hearing a plea to permit the US citizen to stay in India for a further period of six months, said that the petitioner does not have a case that there is an infraction of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

"The petitioner was well aware of the visa conditions when he arrived in India, and it is too late in the day for him to raise a grievance on the visa conditions," the bench said noting that the petitioner's love for India was heartening.

The High Court also directed the Foreigners Registration Officer to consider the petitioner's representation within a period of two weeks in accordance with the applicable guidelines and policies.

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