KOCHI: Kerala High Court has directed the Revenue Divisional Officer, Fort Kochi, to pay Rs 10,000 to the Kerala State Legal Services Authority for not providing instructions to the government pleader in a case pending in the court. The cost shall not be recovered from the government exchequer under any circumstances, and it will be the personal liability of the RDO, said the court.
The court issued the order on a petition stating that though the court had ordered to consider the petitioner’s application filed under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967, no action was taken by the RDO.
When the case came up for hearing, the government pleader submitted that, even after repeated requests, no instructions were not received from the RDO regarding the issuance of the orders. The court said that the situation reflects a callous indifference to the rule of law.