Local Government Laws

In the case of Kumari Mohanam K.P. v. Corporation of Thiruvananthapuram & Others [MANU/KE/4276/2019], the High Court of Kerala clarified the mandatory steps that municipal authorities must follow before demolishing a structure.

In Kizhakkambalam Grama Panchayat v. Superintendent of Police, Ernakulam Rural [2025:KER:58982], the High Court of Kerala observed that when a duly constituted Grama Panchayat is exercising its statutory functions, no individual or mob has the authority to obstruct those functions by taking the law into their own hands.

The Kerala High Court, in V V Varghese v. Kerala State Election Commission [2009:KER:21461], clarified this principle. The court distinguished between a "conscience vote," which may be permitted by an express party whip, and a "conscious vote," which must align with party policy.

In The Gateway Hotels v. Kochi Municipal Corporation [2025:KER:31602], the High Court of Kerala has ruled that the three-year period of limitation prescribed in the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994, will prevail over the general 12-year period provided under the Limitation Act, 1908.

The moot question that came up before the Kerala High Court in Mariam Beevi v The Secretary, Athirampuzha Grama Panchayat was whether a road that was leading to the houses of the petitioner and six others was an exclusive private path, meant for the benefit of those seven persons; or a public road vested in the respondent Grama Panchayat, meant for the benefit of the general public.