The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed a review petition filed by M.R. Ajayan, an Ernakulam-based journalist, against an order of a vacation bench of the court that imposed ₹40,000 cost on him.
A Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the review petition that challenged an interim order passed by a vacation bench, which found that he had filed petitions under Section 8 of the Kerala High Court Act, 1958, which deals with the powers of vacation judges. Petitions are generally filed under the Section, only when the matter is of urgent nature.
A vacation bench had found that Mr. Ajayan had filed four petitions pertaining to various matters before the court, but had failed to cite the reason for the urgency. They included one seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged financial transactions between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and Exalogic Solutions Private Limited owned by Veena T., daughter of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Another PIL filed by him sought a CBI probe into the alleged misappropriation of gold from the Sabarimala temple.
In addition, a lawyer representing him failed to appear before the court during the vacation sitting. Soon after, the vacation bench imposed ₹10,000 as cost on him for each of the four cases.
On Tuesday, the High Court said there was no reason to review the order imposing cost passed by the vacation bench.
Published – February 04, 2026 02:07 am IST
