Kerala High Court Sets Aside Government Order Dissolving Police Associations

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has ruled that the state government does not have the authority to dissolve police associations in Keralam. The court observed that the Constitution allows any organisation to function.

The court said any amendment to an organisation's constitution requires a two-thirds majority in the general body. Dissolving an organisation without such a procedure is unconstitutional, it said. The court also observed that organisations can function in different ways.

The court also stayed the government's move to form ad hoc committees. The right to continue as members of associations is part of freedom of association, the court said. The government's action without hearing the views of the organisations was illegal, it observed.

The court further said that forming ad hoc committees amounted to interference in the autonomy of the associations.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas pronounced the judgment on petitions filed by the Kerala Police Association and the Kerala Police Officers Association.