Kerala - Kochi

CBI files affidavit in Abhaya case

KOCHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed an affidavit and documents in a sealed cover relating to the investigation in the Sister Abhaya death case before the Kerala High Court.

Justice R. Basant had on Wednesday directed the CBI to file an affidavit/statement specifying the material collected so far against the accused in the court.

The documents included extracts of the case diary and reports filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court here.

Justice S. Siri Jagan held that education institutions that conducted government-recognised courses and were owned and run by individuals were also entitled to exemption from building tax under Section 235(1) (d) of the Kerala Municipalities Act.

The court said that if it was held that any educational institution owned by organisations would be eligible for tax exemption, it would be a discrimination against educational institutions owned and run by individuals when the intention of the section was to exempt the building from the tax purview on account of its use for education purposes.

The court gave the ruling while quashing a government order rejecting a request of Usha P. Panicker who runs an industrial training institute at Cherthala for exemption from building tax.

Acting on another petition, the court ordered that the regularisation of persons appointed to the post of reserve conductors in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) through the employment exchange and of non-PSC (Public Service Commission) hands on temporary basis would be subject to the result of a writ petition pending in the court.

The court passed the order on a writ petition filed by Sunilkumar from Cherthala against an agreement between labour unions and the KSRTC management to regularise persons appointed to the post on temporary basis.

The petitioner had been included in the rank list of the candidates prepared by the PSC for the post in 2001.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice A.K. Basheer disposed as withdrawn a writ petition filed by Mohammed Salim, State general secretary, Yuva Janata Dal, challenging a State government order on levying delivery charges for the supply of cooking gas.

The Bench said the petitioner could approach the government against the order.

The government had stayed the Kozhikode Collector’s order restraining gas agencies from collecting delivery charges over and above what had been prescribed as per the law.

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