8 October 2026
A Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi has directed that the Udayasthamana Pooja at the Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple be continued in the manner it was earlier performed, on Vrishchikam Ekadasi, which falls on 21 November 2026.
The direction is an interim measure, subject to the final outcome of the pending appeal.
The Court also permitted the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee and the Thantri to hold the pooja on 22 October 2026.
The appeal, in P.C. Hary versus Guruvayoor Devaswom Managing Committee, was expedited and posted for the first week of December.
The appeal arises from a Kerala High Court judgment of December 2024 on the conduct of the pooja.
The Udayasthamana Pooja is a day-long ritual from sunrise to sunset comprising 18 poojas, a homam and abhishekam.
Bench:
Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi
Vrishchikam Ekadasi:
21 November 2026
Additional day permitted:
22 October 2026
Appeal posted for:
First week of December
Why it matters for exams: It links temple administration under a State Devaswom statute with the courts' approach to religious practice, a recurring theme in both Kerala PSC and UPSC papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Thantri Chief priest of a temple — Under the Guruvayur Devaswom Act, 1978 the Thantri is treated as the final authority on religious and ceremonial matters of the temple.
8 October 2026
The Kerala government has approved an E-Challan Amnesty Scheme under which motorists may settle pending traffic fines by paying 50 per cent of the prescribed amount.
The concession period runs from 1 November 2026 to 31 January 2027.
Only challans generated on or before 31 March 2026 qualify; challans issued after that date get no concession.
As on 31 March there were 1,00,22,255 pending challans, involving Rs 9,07,74,86,813.
Challans that have already gone to court are excluded, as are offences not listed in the scheme.
The listed offences include driving without a licence, permitting an unauthorised person to drive, over-speeding, dangerous driving, registration and permit violations and overloading.
Scheme:
E-Challan Amnesty Scheme
Concession:
50% of the prescribed fine
Period:
1 November 2026 to 31 January 2027
Challans cut-off:
Generated on or before 31 March 2026
Pending challans:
1,00,22,255
Amount pending:
Rs 9,07,74,86,813
Why it matters for exams: An amnesty scheme with exact dates, a cut-off and a pending-dues figure is the kind of State scheme Kerala PSC asks about directly.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
e-challan Electronic challan — A machine-generated notice of a motor vehicle offence, served and paid electronically.
8 October 2026
The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission has allowed the Kerala State Electricity Board to continue purchasing 177 MW from two NTPC thermal stations until 30 April 2029.
The quantum is split as 80 MW from Barh Stage-I and 97 MW from Barh Stage-II.
KSEB has been buying from these stations on a short-term basis since 1 October 2024.
For 2025-26 the average tariff worked out to a fixed charge of Rs 2.68 and an energy charge of Rs 2.91 for Barh Stage-I, and a fixed charge of Rs 1.97 and an energy charge of Rs 2.89 for Barh Stage-II.
The Commission observed that the rates, especially the fixed cost of Barh Stage-I, are slightly on the higher side when compared with round-the-clock power discovered through the DEEP portal and the short-term market.
It directed KSEB to take part actively in Central Electricity Regulatory Commission tariff hearings and work to bring the tariffs down.
KSEB had sought the firm power citing peak-hour and night off-peak shortages, grid stability and resource adequacy.
Quantum approved:
177 MW
Barh Stage-I:
80 MW
Barh Stage-II:
97 MW
Valid until:
30 April 2029
Why it matters for exams: Kerala's power purchase, the role of the State regulator and the DEEP portal appear regularly in economy and infrastructure questions.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
DEEP Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price — A national e-bidding portal through which distribution utilities discover short and medium term power prices.
8 October 2026
The Forest Department and the Revenue Department in Idukki have begun joint action to clear natural elephant routes after the District Collector ordered the immediate removal of unauthorised structures blocking them.
District Collector Dinesh Cherruvattu, who chairs the District Disaster Management Authority, issued the order after three people were killed in wild elephant attacks in the district over three months.
In the first phase the Forest Department began evicting encroachments on the route leading to Mathikettan.
In Chinnakanal about 10 hectares of encroached land forming part of a proposed reserved forest were cleared, unauthorised cardamom cultivation was destroyed and iron wire and fencing blocking the corridor was cut away.
The Forest Department identifies three elephant routes in Idukki, leading to old Devikulam, Suryanelli and Mathikettan.
Chief Conservator of Forests, High Range Circle, Vinod Kumar said reopening the closed Chinnakanal-to-Mathikettan route is the first priority.
The Revenue Department is to handle encroachments in the KSEB catchment area in a later phase.
Area cleared:
About 10 hectares
Elephant routes identified:
Three: old Devikulam, Suryanelli, Mathikettan
District Collector:
Dinesh Cherruvattu
Why it matters for exams: Elephant corridors, a District Disaster Management Authority order and a proposed reserve forest bring together environment and administration in one live Kerala case.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
DDMA District Disaster Management Authority — A district body under the Disaster Management Act chaired by the District Collector, which can order measures to prevent disasters.
9 October 2026
The India Meteorological Department's Meteorological Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, has warned of heavy rainfall of 7 to 11 cm in 24 hours at isolated places over Keralam from 7 to 10 October 2026.
It has also warned of thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds of 40 to 50 km per hour at one or two places over Keralam and Lakshadweep on 9 and 10 October 2026.
For 7, 8 and 11 October the warning is of thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds of 30 to 40 km per hour at one or two places over Keralam.
The Centre issues the Kerala and Lakshadweep outlook along with district-wise and subdivision-wise warning pages.
Heavy rainfall:
7 to 11 cm in 24 hours, isolated places, 7 to 10 October 2026
Gusty winds:
40 to 50 km/h on 9 and 10 October 2026
Area:
Keralam and Lakshadweep
Why it matters for exams: The IMD's own thresholds for heavy rainfall and gusty winds, and the Kerala-Lakshadweep subdivision, are standard geography and disaster management material.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
IMD India Meteorological Department — The national weather service, which issues rainfall warnings through state Meteorological Centres and Regional Meteorological Centres.
8 October 2026
The Venad Express, which runs between Thiruvananthapuram and Shoranur, will soon be extended to Nilambur, Palakkad Divisional Railway Manager Madhukar Rohit has said.
He announced this at Nilambur station at a meeting with Nilambur municipal chairperson Padmini Gopinath and office-bearers of the Nilambur-Mysuru Railway Action Council.
The train reaches Shoranur at 12 noon and leaves on its return journey at 3 p.m., and the Railways plans to use that three-hour window for a Nilambur service.
The extension would fill the gap in train services on the Nilambur route between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
A platform able to take 24 coaches has been completed at Melattur station, and a crossing station is due to be commissioned next month.
The DRM also said the discontinued parcel service at Nilambur could resume if profitability is assured, and promised steps to secure stops at Cherukara for the Kottayam Express and the Nilambur-Shoranur MEMU.
Train:
Venad Express, Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur
Proposed extension:
To Nilambur
Idle window at Shoranur:
12 noon to 3 p.m.
Platform at Melattur:
24 coaches
Why it matters for exams: The Nilambur-Shoranur line and the Palakkad railway division recur in Kerala geography and infrastructure questions.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
DRM Divisional Railway Manager — The officer in charge of a railway division; Nilambur and Shoranur fall in the Palakkad division of Southern Railway.
8 October 2026
A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court has held that the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) is entitled to set up commercial kiosks at the Queen's Walkway in Kochi.
The judgment was delivered on Wednesday, 7 October 2026 by Dr. Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Preeta A.K. in W.A.No.1423 & 1507/2026, and is reported as 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 561.
The Bench set aside a Single Bench judgment that had barred the construction, and declared that GIDA has the authority to develop the road and the walkway on the 25 hectares of reclaimed land originally assigned to it in Sy.No.843 of Ernakulam Village for the Vypeen Bridges Project.
The writ petition by the Tritvam Apartment Owners Association had challenged 20 kiosks; the Court found no material showing that the apartment purchase agreements gave the petitioners any right over the road or the walkway.
GIDA's proposal, placed in an additional affidavit, keeps a clear and unobstructed walkway 2.5m wide, separated from the kiosk space by steel handrails.
The Court recorded that GIDA is a 'State' under Article 12 of the Constitution of India and is therefore obliged to safeguard the right of pedestrians to an obstruction-free walkway once the walkway is opened to public access.
Citation:
2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 561
Case numbers:
W.A.No.1423 & 1507/2026
Kiosks challenged:
20
Land assigned to GIDA:
25 hectares
Clear walkway width:
2.5m
Why it matters for exams: The order joins two standing exam themes — what counts as 'State' under Article 12 and the public's right to an unobstructed footpath — to a named Kerala statutory development authority.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
GIDA Goshree Islands Development Authority — The Kerala development authority for the Goshree islands around Kochi, which executed the Vypeen Bridges Project.
Article 12 Article 12 of the Constitution of India — It defines 'the State' for Part III, bringing other authorities within the territory of India under the fundamental rights.
Background
The question of who may fix the day of the Udayasthamana Pooja is live before the Supreme Court, which has directed that the pooja at Guruvayur be held on Vrishchikam Ekadasi as an interim measure.
The Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple is administered by the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee, a statutory body constituted under the Guruvayur Devaswom Act, 1978.
The Kerala High Court, dismissing the earlier plea, reasoned that under that Act the Thantri is the final authority on the religious and ceremonial matters of the temple.
The challenge to the Committee's decision was brought by P.C. Hary of Puzhakkara Chennas Mana, of the temple's hereditary priestly family, along with other devotees.
The Committee had decided to cancel the pooja on Vrishchikam Ekadasi citing crowd management, telling the Court that over one lakh people visit the temple on Ekadasi.
The Udayasthamana Pooja itself runs from sunrise to sunset and comprises 18 poojas, a homam and abhishekam.
Governing statute:
Guruvayur Devaswom Act, 1978
Administering body:
Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee
Final authority on rituals:
The Thantri
Components of the pooja:
18 poojas, a homam and abhishekam
Why it matters for exams: Kerala's Devaswom statutes and the bodies that run the major temples are asked about by name, and the Guruvayur Devaswom Act is one of them.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Devaswom Temple administration body in Kerala — A statutory board or committee that manages temples and their properties; Guruvayur, Travancore, Cochin and Malabar each have their own.