
HC stays selection process of KAT judicial members
The Hindu
‘Process initiated without chairperson of tribunal is against statute’
The Kerala High Court on Friday stayed the selection process initiated for appointments to the posts of judicial members in the Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT). Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar, however, made it clear that the interim order would not preclude the selection committee from initiating a fresh selection process when a chairperson was duly appointed to the tribunal. The interim order came on a writ petition filed by T.T. Biju, a lawyer aspirant for the post. According to him, the selection process was initiated by including the acting chairperson of the tribunal in the selection committee.
Revenue quasi-judicial authorities now cannot go scot-free if they issue any orders with mala fide intentions with respect to government land. The government has initiated the process of disciplinary action against a few such authorities who allegedly pronounced orders with vested interests to favour those who encroached upon government land.

In a major move, decades-old encroachments around Perumal Teppam, belonging to Koodal Alagar Temple, on the busy Town Hall Road were removed on Monday. Under tight police security, Corporation authorities removed the makeshift shops and eateries around the tank in the presence of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department officials.