Thu Feb 27 13:21:46 UTC 2025: ## Kerala High Court Slams State Government for Protecting Secretariat Officials
**Kochi, February 27, 2025** – The Kerala High Court on Thursday sharply criticized the State government for its failure to take disciplinary action against the president and secretary of the Kerala Secretariat Employees Association (KSEA) for erecting a large unauthorized board in front of the Secretariat.
Justice Devan Ramachandran expressed strong disapproval after the government argued that insufficient evidence existed to warrant departmental proceedings against Hony P. and Ajith Kumar, the president and secretary respectively. The government claimed an external agency was responsible for the board’s installation.
However, the court noted that a police report suggests the board was erected at the direction of the KSEA president, an additional secretary-rank official, with funds provided by the secretary, an officer in the general administration wing. The court found the Additional Chief Secretary’s affidavit, which claimed the agency was solely responsible, to be a “casual and cavalier” response that disregarded the police report and the court’s previous directives against illegal signage.
Justice Ramachandran deemed the Additional Chief Secretary’s actions as “extremely uncharitable to the process of the law” and a sign of disrespect towards court orders. The judge accused the Additional Chief Secretary of supporting and protecting the KSEA officials and failing to understand their obligations to the court. The court has ordered the Additional Chief Secretary to submit a revised affidavit addressing these concerns.
First Piper 