Award: court seeks selection norms

 A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the State government to consider a representation seeking to lay down guidelines for selecting an artist for the Raja Ravi Varma Award before taking further action in the matter.

The Bench comprising Chief Justice S.R. Bannurmath and Justice Kurian Joseph passed the directive while disposing of a writ petition filed against the government decision to confer the award on painter M.F. Hussain in 2007. The petition was filed by Ravi Varma, a member of the erstwhile Cochin royal family.

A writ petition was filed against the government practice of bringing lawyers from outside the State for arguing its cases before the High Court. In a petition, Raju Puzhankara also sought a probe by a retired High Court judge into the allegation that the State government had spent Rs.3 crore in connection with bringing lawyers from outside the State during the last three years. He pointed out that 71 government pleaders had been appointed in the High Court.