The State government has approached the Kerala High Court for initiating contempt of court proceedings against S. Rajendran, the CPI(M) legislator from Devikulam, and four others of the Munnar grama panchayat for constructing a building on the ecologically sensitive banks of the Muthirappuzha river in violation of court orders.
The petition was filed by Special Government Pleader (for Advocate General) M.H. Hanil Kumar.
Madhusoodanan Unnithan, secretary, Munnar grama panchayat; Kuppuswami, president of the panchayat; Vijayakumar, member, district panchayat; and Chikku, the contractor of the panchayat who constructed the building; are the others in the contempt case.
Earlier, Devikulam Subcollector Renu Raj, in a letter to the Advocate General, said a stop memo was issued to the secretary of the Munnar grama panchayat regarding the construction of the building. The official was also informed that such constructions needed a no objection certificate (NOC) from the District Collector. She said the Kerala High Court had earlier ordered that clearance from the Revenue Department was required for all constructions in the eight villages that were earlier under the jurisdiction of the Munnar Special Tribunal.
Providing details of the steps taken by the Devikulam Subcollector to check the illegal construction, the State submitted that Mr. Rajendran had arrived at the spot of the construction and said the NOC of the Revenue Department was not necessary for the construction. He declared that the Subcollector’s action was without understanding the legal aspects. The State further submitted that the construction work in the area proceeded further at the instigation of the legislator and in his presence.
State’s submission
Mr. Rajendran had also abused the Subcollector in front of the media and the people gathered in the area, the State submitted. The action of the legislator, contractor, panchayat president, panchayat secretary and the district panchayat member in instigating and making sure the construction work went on is in violation of the Kerala High Court order. The respondents, the State said, knowingly undermined the authority of the court and disobeyed its orders, which amounted to wilful and deliberate contempt of court.