Kerala HC asks ACS to appear before it over delay in action on complaint against DGP S. Sreejith

The Kerala High Court has ordered Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Minhaj Alam to appear before it and justify why he has not complied with the court's directive to investigate a complaint against S. Sreejith, the Director General of Police. The complaint was lodged by Dipin Edavana, an Assistant Motor Vehicles Inspector from Malappuram, who alleged that Sreejith had attended a private entity's inauguration in his official attire abroad.

In July, Justice A. Badharudeen ruled against the State's plea for an extension to reconsider Mr. Edavana's complaint within three weeks, dismissing it as false and vexatious without a hearing. The court had earlier set aside an earlier order by then-ACS Biswanath Sinha, which found the complaint baseless. Mr. Edavana was asked to join Sreejith for a joint hearing to evaluate the complaint after an inquiry was ordered in another petition.

However, Mr. Edavana declined to attend, citing unfairness in discussing allegations in the presence of the official involved. The court closed the petition on July 28. When the State requested additional time to comply with the court's order on Tuesday, it argued that the three-week deadline had passed and that any extension should have been requested sooner.