Kochi: In a rare gesture, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday questioned the manner in which the Kerala High Court treated a number of public interest litigations filed by him when he was the leader of the opposition in the state assembly.
Chennithala was highly critical of former Chief Justice S Manikumar who retired on April 24. The Congress leader went to the extent of accusing Manikumar of helping the Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government by sitting on the PILs filed by him for long.
Chennithala was responding to a question on why he was not approaching the high court seeking a probe into the alleged corruption in the AI camera deal.
Chennithala has demanded a judicial probe into the deal.
“I have huge respect for the judiciary, but I think I must share some painful experiences I have had from the court now,” Chennithala told reporters at a press meet in the District Congress Committee office here.
He said Justice Manikumar did not consider the petition filed by him in the Sprinkler case which the Congress leader raised when he was the opposition leader. The case, pertaining to the alleged bid to sell medical data of citizens to a US-based company under the pretext of preventing Covid, had caused a huge political controversy during the previous term of the Pinarayi government.
“Justice Devan Ramachandran had been hearing the case properly. Then the bench hearing the case got changed abruptly and since then the hearing has been delayed inordinately. This is the case with eight or nine PILs I filed. I got justice only in a case which I filed against the closure of a school in my constituency, Haripad,” he said.
Chennithala alleged that Justice Manikumar is going to be made the chairman of the State Human Rights Commission for helping the state government. He also mentioned the farewell party hosted by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and a couple of his cabinet colleagues for Justice Manikumar. The party was reportedly held at a star hotel in Kovalam last month. The Congress had questioned the manner in which the party was organised, terming it unheard of in the history of the state.
Chennithala was sarcastic in his reply when asked about Industries and Law Minister P Rajeeve’s comment that the Congress leader should move the court with his complaints against the AI camera project. “Rajeeve is asking me to go to court because he doesn’t know Justice Manikumar has retired,” he said, reasserting his charge of the collusion between the judge and the government.