Kerala: Justice Kemal Pasha shifted from hearing criminal cases

KOCHI: Justice B Kemal Pasha has been shifted from hearing criminal matters by the Kerala high court administration on Friday. The change comes as part of the shuffling of constitution of benches that was published by the administration on Friday. The changes will come into effect from Monday onwards.Justice Pasha had been hearing single bench criminal matters, excluding bails, and original petitions and writ petitions in criminal matters that required exercising of the high court’s power to issue writs and power of superintendence over all courts.It is in this jurisdiction that justice Pasha on Wednesday ordered a CBI probe into the murder of Youth Congress leader SP Shuhaib by a five-member gang allegedly employed by CPI-M leaders of Kannur. By ordering a CBI probe on the 24th day of the murder, justice Pasha had set a new record.While exercising the same jurisdiction, justice Pasha had on Tuesday ordered for registering an FIR against cardinal George Alencherry and others in the controversial land deal of Syro Malabar Church.Other significant change in the constitution of benches at the high court involves division benches led by justice PR Ramachandra Menon and justice K Surendra Mohan.The bench led by justice Ramamchandra Menon was hearing appeals over judgments of Central Administrative Tribunal and Kerala Administrative Tribunals, preventive detention cases including habeas corpus cases, and cases related to fixation of fees and seat sharing with regard to admission to self-financing colleges. A division bench led by justice K Surendra Mohan will now hear these cases instead. It was a bench led by justice Surendra Mohan that delivered the judgment in Haidya case while exercising habeas corpus jurisdiction.The division bench led by justice Surendra Mohan had been hearing appeals arising out of Kerala Education Act and its rules. These cases have been assigned to the division bench led by justice PR Ramachandra Menon now.