In an unprecedented move, the Kerala government on Wednesday organised an official farewell ceremony for Chief Justice S Manikumar who is retiring from service on 23 April at Leela Hotel in Kovalam.

State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Law and Industries Minister P Rajeeve, Finance Minister K N Balagopal, Revenue Minister K Rajan, Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup, Chief Secretary V P Joy, Additional Chief Secretary (Home And Vigilance) V Venu and other senior officials attended the function. It is alleged that the farewell was held “in secret”.

The usual practice when a chief justice retires is that the full court of the state high court would honour him. Following this practice, a full-court reference was held in Kochi last week. Senior lawyers of the high court had also organised a send-off function to the retiring chief justice the other day.

It is being alleged that the chief justice, by accepting the invitation of the state government, has gone against a charter adopted by the Supreme Court.

The charter called the ‘Restatement of Values of Judicial Life’ which was adopted by the apex court on 7 May 1997 serves as a guideline for an independent and fair judiciary. It is a code of judicial ethics and serves as a guide for an independent and fair judiciary, paving the way for the impartial administration of justice.

The code comprises 16 points. Point 10 of the code says a judge shall not accept gifts or hospitality except from his family, close relations and friends.

Earlier, the participation of Lokayukta Cyriac Joseph and Upalokayukta Harun-ul-Rashid at the Iftar party hosted by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan sparked a controversy in the state.

RS Sasikumar, the petitioner in the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) case, said that the Lokayukta judges in having attended the party hosted by the chief minister, while a case against the Chief Minister is before them, is an insult to the Judiciary and that he lost faith in the judiciary after this.

Earlier, Chief Justice S Mani Kumar’s meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had created a controversy. The meeting was held at Ernakulam Guest House. After the meeting, the high court had issued a press release stating that the chief Justice had come to invite his daughter’s marriage and the news circulating about this was baseless.

Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader, VD Satheesan expressed serious concerns over the farewell party given to the chief justice by state government.

Stating that such a practice was unheard of in the state, Satheesan said “Not long ago when there was an adverse verdict against Vijayan in the SNC Lavalin case, all saw how the then retiring Chief Justice was given a mock send-off by the feeder organisations of the CPI-M. Taking that into account, Vijayan’s present send-off shows that he has respect for the judiciary which is a welcome thing. But,  CM Vijayan has to explain why and what was the reason for this kind of a secret send-off.”

Meanwhile, it has been reported that a complaint has been sent to the President of India and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court regarding the send given to the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court by the state government.

The complainant Sabu Stephen is a social worker. In his complaint, Sabu Stephen demanded an inquiry into the actions taken by the Chief Justice in cases where the Kerala government is a party.