Kerala High Court to take up BJP president Kummanam Rajasekharan's petition today

Kochi: BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan on Monday moved the Kerala High Court seeking to quash the appointment of senior counsel M. K. Damodaran as legal advisor to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Mr Rajasekharan submitted that the appointment was illegal as there was an advocate-general to advise the chief minister and the government in all legal matters.

Apart from the constitutional implications involved, the practical consequence now happening is all the more dangerous to constitutionalism and the rule of law, he said. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Anu Sivaraman would consider the case as the fifth item on Tuesday.

The petition said Mr Damodaran is now appearing for opposite parties to the state in cases, particularly for defendants in criminal cases. In his capacity as the legal advisor and principal secretary, he is entitled to receive information from any government department, the petitioner pointed out.

He submitted that there is a hidden agenda behind the present move to create a parallel power centre in legal and judicial matters, overlooking and superseding the AG to protect political and economic interests by subverting the letter and spirit of the constitution and challenging the justice delivery system. He argued that Mr Damodharan had already appeared for Congress leader R. Chandrasekharan, a defendant in a corruption case related to Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation where he was the chairman.