Default in the payment of maintenance amounts as decreed by the courts to wives, children or parents as the case may be will hence forth attract an interest of 12%. The State Cabinet gave its approval to an amendment Bill seeking to achieve this purpose.
The Cabinet also decided to amend the Kerala High Court Act seeking to enhance the financial powers of a single judge of the High Court from ₹1 lakh to ₹40 lakh. The Act will be amended to empower a single judge to handle appeal cases against the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal verdicts irrespective of the claim amounts, an official statement issued soon after the Cabinet meeting said here on Wednesday.
The Cabinet also sanctioned the establishment of Kochi Metro Police station at Thrikkakara village in Kalamassery municipality to exclusively handle cases that come under the purview of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. (KMRL). KMRL has already made avialable the land required for this purpose.
Concessions
The Cabinet decided to pay ₹2 lakh to Sabitha, hailing from Thrissur, whose hand below her left elbow had to be amputated owing to the treatment lapses at the Wadakkancherry Taluk Hospital.
An amount of ₹3 lakh will be paid to Aswin Raghav and Anjana, who were orphaned following the murder of their father Girish and the subsequent suicide of their mother, Jisha. The two children are now being looked after by their father’s brother, Santhosh.
The government will also pay up the principal amount of the housing loan, while the cooperative department will give the necesary direction to the cooperative bank concerned to write off the interest amounts, the statement said.
