27 October 2026
In I. Bindhu v. M/s Thiruvananthapuram Service Co-operative and Anr. (WA 1924/2026), reported as 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 598, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court has held that all Judges and Benches of a High Court are equal in status and power, and that a larger Bench has no supervisory or mentoring role over a smaller one. Both a Single Judge and a Division Bench exercise the same writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution; an intra-court appeal only adds a layer of scrutiny for the litigant and does not make the Single Judge subordinate. The Court called this principle 'peer restraint', grounded in comity rather than in stare decisis alone, and said a Division Bench may set aside or modify a Single Judge's decision for valid reasons but must not advise or criticise that Judge. On the facts, the Bench also held, following Haryana Suraj Malting Limited v. Phool Chand, that a Labour Court does not become functus officio merely because its award has become enforceable.
Case:
I. Bindhu v. M/s Thiruvananthapuram Service Co-operative and Anr., WA 1924/2026
Citation:
2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 598
Constitutional provision:
Article 226
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that Article 226 is the writ jurisdiction of the High Courts, that an intra-court appeal is the High Court reviewing its own order, and that 'functus officio' means a body has exhausted its authority over a matter.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Functus officio Having discharged its office — Said of an authority whose power over a matter is exhausted, so it can act no further.
Intra-court appeal Appeal within the same court — An appeal from a Single Judge of a High Court to a Division Bench of the same High Court.
27 October 2026
Justice Ziyad Rahman A. A. of the Kerala High Court is hearing a writ petition by Hyder Ali K., chief editor of the Malayalam digital news platform NoCap, whose Facebook page was restricted in India after Meta cited a government or law enforcement notice under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The Court has asked the Union Government and the State of Kerala to say whether either of them issued any direction to Meta to block the page, and has ordered notice to Meta Platforms. The petition asks the Court to declare that a direction under Section 79(3)(b), read with Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, must be communicated to the affected user, arguing that blocking without notice or hearing offends natural justice and Article 14. The case is listed for 5 November 2026.
Case:
Hyder Ali K. v. Union of India, WP(C) 36632/2026
Provision cited:
Section 79(3)(b), Information Technology Act, 2000
Next hearing:
5 November 2026
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 carries the safe harbour protection for intermediaries, that Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules, 2021 governs how an intermediary gets actual knowledge of unlawful content, and that Article 14 guarantees equality before the law.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Safe harbour Exemption of intermediaries from liability — Section 79 of the IT Act shields an intermediary from liability for third-party content, subject to conditions.
27 October 2026
A gazette notification of the Government of Kerala has taken the first and second sections of the T, or Top Secret, branch of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau out of the reach of the Right to Information Act, 2005. The power used is Section 24(4) of the Act, which allows a State Government to notify intelligence and security organisations it has established as exempt; the same provision keeps information on allegations of corruption and of human rights violations within the Act's reach. The T branch handles sensitive material, including intelligence reports and confidential reports on government officials. Kerala had first exempted the branch in 2016 and rescinded that notification in 2022 after it was challenged in the Kerala High Court by the Indian Association of Lawyers and the Aam Aadmi Party. Other bodies Kerala keeps outside the Act include the Special Branch CID, the Crime Branch CID, the Crime Record Bureaus, the Police Telecommunication Unit, the State and regional Forensic Science Laboratories and the Finger Print Bureau.
Provision used:
Section 24(4), Right to Information Act, 2005
Body exempted:
T branch, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau
Earlier notification rescinded:
2022
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that Section 24 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 exempts notified intelligence and security organisations, that Section 24(4) is the State Government's power to notify them, and that even an exempted body must disclose information on allegations of corruption and of human rights violations.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
VACB Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau — Kerala's agency for investigating corruption by public servants.
RTI Act Right to Information Act, 2005 — The law that lets any citizen seek information held by a public authority.
27 October 2026
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, with the Department of Economics and Statistics of Kerala, is holding a three-day workshop at Thiruvananthapuram from 28 to 30 October 2026 on revising the base year of the State-level Index of Industrial Production. The all-India IIP base year is being updated from 2011-12 to 2022-23, with a new item basket and weights, an updated factory panel and coverage extended to gas supply, water supply, sewerage and waste management. About 60 officials from the Ministry and from the Departments of Economics and Statistics of States and Union Territories are taking part, and the workshop also takes up revisions to the National Industrial Classification 2025 and the National Product Classification.
New base year:
2022-23
Old base year:
2011-12
Officials taking part:
About 60
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the Index of Industrial Production is compiled by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, and that its base year is moving from 2011-12 to 2022-23.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
IIP Index of Industrial Production — An index that measures the short-term change in the volume of industrial output.
MoSPI Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation — The Union ministry that compiles India's official statistics, including the IIP and the national accounts.
27 October 2026
An extraordinary gazette of the Kerala Public Service Commission dated 31 August 2026 carries Category Numbers 130 of 2026 to 150 of 2026, with 7 October 2026 as the last date for applications. The posts include Artist in the Information and Public Relations Department, Laboratory Attender and Electrician in the Ground Water Department, Plumber in the Kerala Water Authority restricted to in-service personnel, Conservation Officer in the State Archives Department, Lecturer in Arabic under Kerala General Education, Police Constable in the Police Band Unit, Assistant Prison Officer in Prisons and Correctional Services, Fire and Rescue Officer (Trainee) in Fire and Rescue Services, and Beat Forest Officer in Forest and Wildlife, along with posts in Malabar Cements Ltd., the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited, the Kerala Land Development Corporation Limited and the Kerala State Film Development Corporation Limited.
Category Numbers:
130/2026 to 150/2026
Last date:
07-10-2026
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the Kerala Public Service Commission notifies posts by Category Number through extraordinary gazettes, that a Beat Forest Officer belongs to the Forest and Wildlife Department, and that an Assistant Prison Officer belongs to Prisons and Correctional Services.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
Category Number Category Number — The serial number a Kerala PSC notification gives each post, used in all later stages of that recruitment.
27 October 2026
Justice A. Badharudeen of the Kerala High Court has held that statutory restrictions cannot curtail the High Court's power under Article 226 of the Constitution to direct the registration of an FIR or an investigation where the material before it shows a cognizable offence. The ruling came in M.R. Ajayan v. The Director, CBI and Anr., WP(Crl.) 570 of 2026, reported as 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 602. The Court held that Section 6 of the Special Police Act, which restricts the Central Bureau of Investigation's power to investigate, and the hearing requirements under Sections 175 and 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, are not an absolute bar to a writ directing an investigation; nor does the fact that a person has not been impleaded or heard prevent the Court from ordering an investigation against that person where the material shows a cognizable offence. The Court relied on the Constitution Bench decision in State of West Bengal v. Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (2010), which recognised the power of constitutional courts to direct investigations despite statutory limits on investigating agencies. On the facts, the Court declined the specific relief sought, finding the material did not implicate the four individuals named by the petitioner, and left the investigating officer free to proceed against anyone if relevant material emerges. The petition was disposed of.
Case:
M.R. Ajayan v. The Director, CBI and Anr., WP(Crl.) 570/2026
Citation:
2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 602
Constitutional provision:
Article 226
Why it matters for exams: Article 226 and the writ jurisdiction of the High Courts is a standing Polity question, and this ruling ties it to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and to the Constitution Bench decision in State of West Bengal v. Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
BNSS Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — The criminal procedure law that replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
Cognizable offence — An offence in which the police may register a case and begin investigating without a magistrate's order.
Background
The National Centre for Earth Science Studies is at Akkulam in Thiruvananthapuram.
It began as the Centre for Earth Science Studies, established in 1978, and in 2014 it gained national stature under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, and was re-envisioned as the National Centre for Earth Science Studies.
It is part of the Earth System Science Organization under that ministry.
Its work is organised into four research groups: the Solid Earth Research Group, the Environmental Hydrology Group, the Marine Science Group and the Atmospheric Science Group.
Slope stability and landslide study is among its research areas, along with river and ground water hydrology of Peninsular India and the dynamics of thunderstorms and lightning.
It runs field stations including an atmospheric observatory at Mattupetty near Munnar and a critical zone observatory at Attappadi.
Location:
Akkulam, Thiruvananthapuram
Parent ministry:
Ministry of Earth Sciences
Research groups:
four
Why it matters for exams: Which ministry a national institute in Kerala belongs to, and where it sits, are the exact facts Kerala PSC asks about central institutions in the State.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NCESS National Centre for Earth Science Studies — A central earth science institute at Akkulam in Thiruvananthapuram.
Critical zone observatory A field station studying the surface layer of the earth — A field station that watches the thin surface layer where rock, soil, water and air meet.
Background
This background is anchored to Kerala's gazette notification taking the T branch of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau out of the Right to Information Act. Section 24 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 keeps notified intelligence and security organisations outside the Act, and Section 24(4) is the power a State Government uses to notify the organisations it has itself established. The bodies Kerala has notified include the Special Branch CID, the Crime Branch CID, the district Special Branches, the Crime Record Bureaus, the Police Telecommunication Unit, the police confidential branches and sections, the State and regional Forensic Science Laboratories, the Finger Print Bureau and the Home special sections in the Secretariat. Even for a notified body, information relating to allegations of corruption and of human rights violations is not excluded.
Exemption provision:
Section 24, Right to Information Act, 2005
State notifying power:
Section 24(4)
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that Section 24 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 is the exemption provision for intelligence and security organisations, that Section 24(4) is the State Government's notifying power, and that the exemption never covers information on allegations of corruption or of human rights violations.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
CID Crime Investigation Department — The specialised investigating wing of a State police force.