Officers should be trained to conduct themselves in civilised way: SPCA

Kochi: The State Police Complaints Authority on Tuesday asked the police department to impart training to the police personnel so that they would not misbehave to public or shower abuses.

The authority was considering a complaint against Nandakumar, a sub inspector at the North Police Station in the city who allegedly abused a lorry driver.

Retired High Court judge Justice K Narayana Kurup. the chairperson of the Authority issued the order on a plea filed by Mohammed Fazal of Aluva who alleged police harassment.

“Training of the officers and constables should focus on the need for a civilized conduct at all circumstances in all their dealings with the public and generate a real awareness of the merits of the dignified behaviour which alone can help them to win the public confidence and co-operation not to mention protection of the dignity of the individual eschewing abusive epithets,” it held.

The Authority asked the police commissioners and  superintendents to respond within a month.The chairman also added that the principal of Police Training College, Thycaud, and the director of Police Academy, Ramavarmapuram, shall take appropriate steps to “inculcate in trainees a sense of dignified conduct giving complete go by to vindictive and abusive language at all times”.

Explain stand on trafficking of 29 children
Kerala High Court on Tuesday asked the state government to file an affidavit explaining its stand on the trafficking of 29 children who were rescued from the Ernakulam Town railway station while being taken to an orphanage (Yathimkhana) run by a religious trust at Nettoor.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A M Shaffique issued the directive while considering a batch of petitions including the suo motu proceedings initiated by the court.

The court also asked the Child Welfare Committee to file a statement regarding the trafficking of the children.

Land revenue commissioner’s order quashed
Kerala High Court on Tuesday quashed an order of land revenue commissioner cancelling mutation of a land in Kalamassery involved in the Salim Raj land grab cases.

The court also observed that the commissioner has no jurisdiction to determine any issue of vesting under Kerala Land Reforms Act (KLR) 1963.

The court quashed the order of T O Sooraj, the then commissioner, cancelling mutation of a property having an extent of 98.80 cents in Kalamassery which is included in the land grab case.

The court also directed the authorities to receive land tax from the petitioners-NA Sherifa, AK Nazar and two others of Pathadipalam who owned the property in Thrikkakkara North village.

Justice AV Ramakrishna Pillai made it clear that receiving of tax should be subject to the final outcome of the civil suit now pending between the parties in the case.

There is no power of review conferred on the commissioner under the Rules to pass the orders, the court held. The reason cited for canceling the 'Thandaper' also has no legal force to stand.

The basis of the decision to cancel the 'Thandaper' was that the land was vested in the state under section 72 of the KLR Act.

“The commissioner has no jurisdiction to determine any issue of vesting under the KLR Act,” it observed.

More time to file report against Cashew corp
Kerala High Court on Tuesday granted two more weeks to the state government to file a report on the petition seeking CBI probe into the irregularities and corruption in the Kerala Cashew Development Corporation.

The court had asked for the report on August 20, 2014 based on a writ petition filed by INTUC former district secretary Kadakampally Manoj. The court observed that it was the last opportunity to be granted to the state.