24 October 2026
The Kerala High Court on Friday set aside the Kerala government guidelines that preferred production of arrested persons before judicial officers between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and treated production after 5 p.m. as permissible only in exceptional circumstances.
The Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K.V. Jayakumar held that an executive protocol cannot dilute the safeguards guaranteed by the Constitution and the governing statute.
The guidelines were first issued in a government order dated September 21, 2023, and were modified by an order dated September 24, 2026; the Court set aside the Clause 18 preference as it stood in the modified guidelines.
The Court retained the provisions requiring prior intimation to the Magistrate when production is to be made after 5 p.m., and directed the State to issue fresh guidelines.
The ruling is reported as 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 599 in Adv. P.S. Subeesh v State of Kerala.
Guidelines set aside:
Clause 18 preference in the modified guidelines of September 24, 2026 (original order dated September 21, 2023)
Citation:
2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 599
Why it matters for exams: Links Article 22 and Sections 57 and 58 of the BNSS to a live Kerala High Court ruling on executive guidelines.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
BNSS Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita — The 2023 criminal procedure law that replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
24 October 2026
The Kerala High Court on Saturday sought the State's response to a plea by former Director General of Police Tomin J. Thachankary seeking permission to go abroad to rejoin his employment.
Thachankary was convicted by the Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance), Kottayam, under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and sentenced to four years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 30.84 lakh.
The High Court suspended the sentence and released him on bail on October 15, on the condition that he must not leave India without the Court's permission.
Justice A. Badharudeen said the prosecution's objections must be heard first and posted the matter to November 2.
Thachankary has stated that he has deposited 75 per cent of the fine and has been employed in the United Arab Emirates for the past three years.
Sentence:
4 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 30.84 lakh
Next hearing:
November 2
Why it matters for exams: Fixes the Prevention of Corruption Act sections used in disproportionate assets convictions through a current Kerala case.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
DGP Director General of Police — The senior-most rank in a State police force, heading the force in the State.
24 October 2026
The Kerala High Court has held that the State's lack of ownership or physical custody over wild animals does not by itself exclude the State from liability for harm caused by them.
Justice Mohammed Nias C.P. made the observation while dismissing a Regular Second Appeal filed by the State against the concurrent findings of the Munsiff's Court, Kalpetta, and the Sub Court, Sulthanbathery.
The plaintiff, an agriculturist of Thariode in Wayanad district, was attacked by three wild elephants in 2017 and suffered multiple fractures and permanent disability.
The Forest Range Officer had paid Rs 75,000 as emergency relief, and the plaintiff went to the civil court seeking Rs 8 lakh in damages.
The State argued that Rs 75,000 was the maximum payable under the Kerala Rules for Payment of Compensation to Victims of Attack by Wild Animals, 1980, read with a government order dated March 22, 2013.
The ruling is reported as 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 594 in State of Kerala v Sebastian @ Sabu V.K.
Emergency relief paid:
Rs 75,000
Damages sought:
Rs 8 lakh
Why it matters for exams: Connects Kerala's 1980 wild animal compensation rules with the civil liability of the State in human-animal conflict.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
RSA Regular Second Appeal — A second appeal filed in a High Court against a first appellate court's decree in a civil case.
24 October 2026
The Kerala High Court has orally remarked that the prime accused in the irregularities in the Kerala Public Service Commission's Planning Board examination were being spared without being questioned.
The Commission had approached the Court to quash the prosecution sanction granted by the government against its employees and the First Information Report registered in the case with the Crime Branch.
The Court also observed that the Commission was not co-operating with the investigation into the Planning Board examination irregularities.
The case concerns examinations conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission for posts in the Kerala State Planning Board.
Investigating agency:
Crime Branch
Relief sought by the PSC:
Quashing of prosecution sanction and the FIR
Why it matters for exams: A live accountability question about the Kerala PSC, the constitutional body that recruits for State service.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
FIR First Information Report — The first written record a police station makes of information about a cognizable offence.
24 October 2026
The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for districts in Kerala for 25 and 26 October, forecasting extremely heavy rainfall.
In the IMD system a red alert corresponds to extremely heavy rainfall of more than 20 cm in 24 hours.
An orange alert stands for very heavy rainfall of 11 cm to 20 cm, and a yellow alert for heavy rainfall of 6 cm to 11 cm in 24 hours.
The red alert covers Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad on Sunday, 25 October and Idukki and Palakkad on Monday, 26 October.
Red alert threshold:
More than 20 cm in 24 hours
Alert dates:
25 and 26 October
Red alert districts:
Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad (25 October); Idukki, Palakkad (26 October)
Why it matters for exams: The IMD colour-code rainfall thresholds are a standing objective question in Kerala PSC and SSC papers.
Kerala PSCSSC
In plain words
IMD India Meteorological Department — The national weather service under the Ministry of Earth Sciences that issues forecasts and colour-coded warnings.
19 October 2026
The Centre has sanctioned Rs 27 crore for the construction of the Bairakkuppa bridge across the Kabani river, connecting Wayanad in Kerala with Karnataka.
The bridge is to be built under the Sethubandhan scheme of the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund, and will link Perikkalloor village in Wayanad with Bairakkuppa in Karnataka.
The Kerala government had first submitted a Rs 40 crore proposal, after which the National Highways wing's chief engineer prepared and submitted a revised Rs 27 crore project report that was approved.
The foundation stone for a bridge across the Kabani at this point was laid on September 24, 1994 by the then Chief Ministers of Kerala and Karnataka, K. Karunakaran and Veerappa Moily, but construction never began.
Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took up the project with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and Karnataka then gave its consent.
Land acquisition, construction, supervision and maintenance of the approach roads on both banks are to be borne by the Kerala Public Works Department.
Amount sanctioned:
Rs 27 crore
Original proposal:
Rs 40 crore
Foundation stone laid:
September 24, 1994
Why it matters for exams: Fixes the Sethubandhan scheme, the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund and the Kabani as a Kerala-Karnataka boundary river.
Kerala PSCSSC
In plain words
CRIF Central Road and Infrastructure Fund — A central fund built from a cess on petrol and diesel, used for roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
24 October 2026
The Kerala government has issued an order extending the suspension of Additional Director General of Police M.R. Ajith Kumar by 120 days.
He has already completed three months under suspension.
The government's position is that his return to service while investigations against him continue would affect those investigations.
The action relates to the assault on Youth Congress and KSU workers by police personnel during a protest at Alappuzha in the course of the Nava Kerala Yatra led by the then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
A Special Investigation Team headed by a Superintendent of Police submitted a report finding that he had moved to derail the investigation in the case by using subordinate officers.
The Central Administrative Tribunal had earlier declined his request to stay the suspension.
Extension period:
120 days
Time already under suspension:
Three months
Why it matters for exams: Brings in the Central Administrative Tribunal and the ADGP rank through a current Kerala service matter.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
CAT Central Administrative Tribunal — The tribunal that decides service disputes of central government and All India Service officers.
24 October 2026
A missing-person complaint filed at the Pallithottam police station in Kollam set off an investigation that led police to a suspected counterfeit currency printing unit.
Sibion, 37, of Kallelivayal in Vadi, Kollam, was taken into custody after searches at two houses linked to him.
Police seized bundles of paper cut to the size required for printing Rs 500 notes, colour printers, a currency-counting machine and gold ornaments weighing about 43 sovereigns.
Police said the seized materials were suspected to be linked to the production of fake notes with a face value of about Rs 2.5 crore.
The search was carried out jointly by the Kollam City Police and the District Anti-Narcotic Special Action Force.
Police had first registered a kidnapping case on the complaint that Sibion had been taken away from Asramam in Kollam, after which he returned on his own and reported the incident.
Face value of fake notes linked to the seizure:
About Rs 2.5 crore
Gold seized:
About 43 sovereigns
Why it matters for exams: Counterfeit currency and the Rs 500 denomination are standing topics in bank and Kerala PSC awareness papers.
Kerala PSCBank
In plain words
DANSAF District Anti-Narcotic Special Action Force — A district level Kerala Police unit set up to act against the drug trade.
Background
The Kerala Public Service Commission is before the High Court seeking to quash the prosecution sanction given against its employees in the Planning Board examination case, which turns on the law of sanction.
Under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, a court cannot take cognizance of an offence by a public servant without the previous sanction of the competent authority.
Section 17A of that Act also requires prior approval of the competent authority before a police officer may conduct an inquiry or investigation into an offence relating to a public servant's official recommendation or decision.
The sanctioning authority is the government or authority competent to remove the public servant from office.
The requirement is intended to protect honest decisions taken in the discharge of official duty from vexatious prosecution.
Governing Act:
Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
Prior approval provision:
Section 17A
Why it matters for exams: Section 17A and the sanction requirement recur in Kerala PSC and UPSC questions on anti-corruption law.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Cognizance Taking of cognizance — The formal step by which a court takes note of an offence and starts proceedings.