KOCHI: The Kerala High Court Registrar (Vigilance) has recommended action against a court officer in connection with the missing of the writ petitions relating to the Malabar Cements corruption cases from the courtroom.The Registrar found that the court officer is responsible for taking care of the files kept in the courtroom. However, the probe team could not identify the person who took away the files. The Registrar had suggested implementing a file-tracking system in the wake of the repeated incidents of files missing. He also recommended installing a sufficient number of CCTV cameras in all sections and corridors where the public have access.
While directing an inquiry by the Registrar, the HC had observed that the missing of the writ petitions relating to the Malabar Cements cases was an “orchestrated event”. It could be reasonably presumed that the security of the HC was at stake. Therefore, the situation was alarming.
Recently, the HC had taken several steps to improve the security system. According to guidelines issued by the Registrar General, only advocate clerks with valid ID cards will be permitted to enter the judicial sections. If a party-in-person wants access, a valid ID card has to be produced. Advocates, advocate clerks and parties-in-person should not be permitted to examine judges’ papers unsupervised and this should be ensured by the court staff, the circular said. Besides, the guidelines mandated that registered advocate clerks should wear ID cards while in the court premises and if a trainee or junior clerk is employed, they should obtain provisional photo ID cards.