The Kochi Corporation has finally initiated proceedings to restore the original name of a road in Thoppumppady in keeping with the interim order of the High Court.
The new name boards proclaiming the road passing through division 11 as V.S. Krishnan Bhagavathar Road were removed on Tuesday. They will be shortly replaced with boards carrying the name Pallichal Road, which has been in vogue for decades before it was found arbitrarily renamed on the morning of March 3 without the knowledge of either the division councillor Celine Peter or the Corporation Council.
C.D. Thomas and Sudheer K. Gopal, residents of Pallichal Road, had petitioned the High Court that the name of the road was arbitrarily changed. They said a strong lobby was at work in getting roads and streets within the corporation limits renamed after taking bribes. The petitioners had threatened to move a contempt of court petition against the corporation alleging delay in restoring the name as per the High Court order.
The High Court bench of Justice K. Surendra Mohan had earlier this month passed an interim direction asking the corporation to restore the original name.
This was done by vacating its own interim order granted on March 19 allowing the maintenance of the new name based on another writ petition filed by one V.T. Lawrence of Thoppumppady with the Corporation Secretary as the respondent. But the corporation informed the court that no decision had been taken by the corporation to alter the name of the road to V.R. Krishna Bhagavathar Road.
The court vacated the interim order based on this submission and asked the petitioner to file a counter affidavit for further hearing posted after the vacation.
Meanwhile, Ms. Peter, in a release, said that she would continue the legal battle against the alleged forgery of a letter in her name filed in the court by Mr. Lawrence to show that she had recommended the change of name. She also lamented that one of her colleagues in the Council had joined hands with outsiders in forging a document in her name.
