Contempt petition filed against Pinarayi

Kochi: A leave petition for contempt of court proceedings against CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has been filed in a court here. The petition filed by G Rajendran Pillai, a native of Kollam, said that Vijayan’s references on March 11 on Justice V Ramkumar of the Kerala High Court amounted to contempt of court.

After Justice Ramkumar made some scathing criticisms against political parties, leaders and the State Government for their responses to the murderous violence in several Kannur areas, the CPI(M) leader had said that the judge had breached all borders of judicial authority. “The judge has not cared to honour the formalities to be fulfilled while making judgements on the things he does not know,” Vijayan had said.

Vijayan had sought to interpret the law saying that the Constitutional authority vested on a judge did not make him powerful to instruct the Governor to take up an issue with the Central Government. The judge had in his judgement in a related case commented that a gubernatorial effort for taking up the issue with the Centre was desirable in the issue of Kannur violence. Implying that that the State police could in no way ensure safe life of citizens in Thalassery and other areas of Kannur, where blood of seven men had flowed in CPI(M) violence in March first week, the court had said only the deployment of a Central force could guarantee peace.

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