The Kerala High Court has taken serious note of a news report which claimed that the Court had directed a probe into alleged irregularities in the purchase of equipment for a State-wide digital land re-survey project, when no such order had been passed [Shaji J Kodankandath v State of Kerala & ors].
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar VM on Thursday sought an explanation from the editor of Deepika, the Malayalam daily newspaper that had published such a report.
The Court took note of this report after CPI MLA and Revenue Minister K Rajan flagged it in a complaint dated March 13, sent to the Court's Registrar General.
The complaint referred to statements allegedly made by a litigant, Shaji J Kodankandath, in a press conference.
These comments were then allegedly reported by Deepika under the headline, "ഡിജിറ്റൽ സർവ്വേ ഉപകരണങ്ങൾ വാങ്ങിയതിൽ അവ്വവേഷിക്കണമെന ഹൈക്കോടതി" (translation: High Court directed to conduct enquiry regarding the purchase of digital survey equipment).
"We take serious note of the said fact, as we have not passed any such orders," the Court said.
It has now directed the editor of Deepika Daily to file an affidavit with an explanation and appear before the Court. The Court also directed the litigant to file an affidavit clarifying whether he had made any statement as alleged to the press.
"We issue notice to the Editor of Deepika Daily and call for an affidavit regarding the publication of the said news item. Similarly, we direct the petitioner to file an affidavit explaining whether any such statement was made by him at the press conference," the Court ordered.
The Court was dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Shaji J Kodankandath, who has alleged that there was corruption involved in the purchase and tender allocation of equipment to be used for conducting a digital re-survey of villages in Kerala.
The project reportedly aims to survey around 1,550 villages across Kerala in phases at a cost running into several hundred crores, with a significant portion earmarked for equipment procurement.
Kodankandath has sought directions for a detailed probe into the tender.
On February 19, the Court sought details from the vigilance authorities regarding the steps taken on a complaint that was already pending in the matter.
However, the newspaper report under scrutiny is stated to have mistakenly suggested that it was the Court which ordered the vigilance probe.
The matter is listed for further hearing on March 26.
Advocates KB Ganesh, Smitha Chathanarambath, Harisankar KV, and Athira A Menon appeared for the petitioner.
Special government pleader S Renjith represented the State.
[Read Order]