KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday appointed an advocate commissioner on a petition alleging corruption and mismanagement of the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) and directed the commissioner to take custody of the records forthwith from the KCA and maintain them safely.
The petition filed by A Mohamed Najeeb, associate professor and head of physical education, National Institute of Technology, Kozhikode, also sought a directive to implement the recommendations of the Lodha Committee.
The court made it clear the appointment of the advocate commissioner to safe keep the records will not in any way curtail the administrative powers of the Committee, nor does it impinge on the Ombudsman’s powers. The petitioner alleged there has been a misappropriation of funds in the association. After filing the petition, the office-bearers have tried to tamper with the records and partly succeeded, too.
The court said despite the petitioner’s persistent plea that an administrator be appointed, the court desists from doing so at this stage. However, there was a force in the petitioner’s contention that the records need to be preserved.
Lottery: HC strikes down provisions in GST rules
Kochi: The High Court on Friday struck down provisions in the Kerala State GST rules requiring agents and distributors of other state lotteries to furnish all the details of lotteries sold, including the name of winners, and also allowing tax officials to determine whether the lottery was being conducted in accordance with the Lotteries (Regulation) Act or not. The HC also quashed the order forbearing the petitioners from proceeding further with the lottery sale. The court issued the order while accepting the plea of the petitioners, who are the agents of Mizoram lotteries, that the officials under the Kerala State GST Act are not entitled to invoke the provisions of the Act against them as the sale was governed by the Integrated GST Act.