Kerala: High Court grants permission to start Vishu fair in the state

Kerala High Court has granted permission to hold Vishu fair in the state. The High Court also stated that the Election Commission has full freedom to intervene if any violation of the Election Code of Conduct is found in the conduct of markets.

Kochi: The High Court has given conditional permission to the Consumer Fed to hold Vishu fair in the state. Justice Devan Ramachandran's order came with the direction that the government should not use marketing fairs for any kind of propaganda. The High Court also stated that the Election Commission has full freedom to intervene if any violation of the Election Code of Conduct is found in the conduct of markets.

The Consumer Fed had decided to start 250 Ramzan-Vishu fairs from April 8- April 14 across the state. Later, the Election Commission stopped the move to start 250 markets in the state. Later, the Consumer Fed approached the High Court against this.

The HC order stated that the government should not use the markets for any political gain and the government should not give any publicity regarding this.

Even though Ramadan is over, it is a relief to the government that the HC has permitted fairs. The court issued a favorable order considering the interest of the public and the fact that the government had bought the goods to start the market.

The HC pointed out that people should not be taken advantage of votes. The Election Commission is opposing the government's agenda of providing 13 goods at subsidized rates.

The court also criticized that it is not acceptable to take advantage of a person's misconduct to grab votes. The government informed the High Court that it had purchased all the supplies for distribution. Then the court directed to present the recommendation given to the registrar on March 6.