The Supreme Court on Monday expunged the critical observations of Justice V. Ramkumar of the Kerala High Court that law and order in Kerala was in a shambles.
A Bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice R.M. Lodha expunged the adverse comments made by the judge in his order on March 24, 2009 while dealing with bail applications. The Bench took exception to the observations and said these were unnecessary, ill-timed and uncalled for in a bail application. The Bench disapproved of the Kerala High Court's observation in the judgment that criminals came from the constituency of Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
Justice V. Ramkumar made the observation while dismissing the bail applications filed by three persons arrested in connection with an attempt to murder Abdul Rahim alias K.M.R. Guru, head of a spiritual organisation at Aluva, near Kochi. The judge had said that “women are afraid of walking even along busy highways and public streets because it is there that erotic adventurers and chain-snatchers operate with impunity. Highway robbery is also on the increase. The police have become a fearful and dreaded force whom the common man shudders to beseech for help.”
The court had said that in the case in hand, the constituency of the Home Minister had contributed a handful of hardcore criminals to execute the operation plotted by the main accused. The Judge had warned that in an appropriate case, the court would be constrained to call for details such as the investigation so far conducted to unearth the source of manufacture and supply of deadly weapons in various parts of the State, the persons or organisations who were stocking the same, the person who engaged professionals and offered their services as hirelings in various cases and the steps, if any, taken to curb these activities.
Aggrieved by the observations, the State had moved the Supreme Court, which in April last had stayed these remarks. On Monday, during the resumed hearing of the State's appeal, senior counsel T. Nageswara Rao submitted that these remarks affected the State government to a great extent. The Bench agreed with the submissions and ordered the remarks to be expunged.
