LAWS(KER)-2020-9-548

M.P.CHOTHY Vs. STATE OF KERALA

Decided On September 29, 2020
M.P.Chothy Appellant
V/S
STATE OF KERALA Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Aggrieved by the inaction on the part of the respondents in honouring a claim made by the petitioner for reimbursement of travel allowances which he had to incur, in connection with the hearings before the State Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Commission at Thiruvananthapuram, instant writ petition has been filed for the following reliefs:

(2.) Facts leading to filing of instant writ petition are that, petitioner claims to be a retired Class l Officer and a practicing lawyer, belonging to Scheduled Caste Community. He has alleged that he was a victim of several atrocity offences. Hence, he filed complaints before the police, Courts and the 2nd respondent viz., the Registrar, State SC/ST Commission, Ayyankali Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram, which was numbered as Case No.5088/2018 and the other, as 1771/2015, by the SC/ST Commission. On receipt of the complaints, the State SC/ST Commission conducted hearings on 20.01.2015, 20.04.2015, 23.06.2015, 09.09.2015 14.12.2015 and 04.03.2015, at the Head Office at Ayyankali Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram, for which, the petitioner was required to be present. He took his wife, a dependent, along with him, who was a witness, as per Rule 11 of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995. Petitioner has further stated that for the hearings, he had to spend substantial amounts. Hence, he submitted six travelling allowance bills amounting to Rs.23,867/-, in accordance with Rule 11 of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995, before the Registrar, State SC/ST Commission, Thiruvananthapuram, respondent No.2, requesting for payment, but the 2nd respondent did not accede to his request.

(3.) Petitioner has contended that as per the State List or the Concurrent List of Schedule V11 of the Constitution of India, the State is not vested with the powers to enact any law on the subject as contained the Kerala State SC/ST Commission Act, 2007 and the rules framed thereunder.