The Kerala High Court on Thursday sought the response of the Union government on a public interest litigation challenging the conferment of the Padma Bhushan on SNDP Yogam general secretary Velappally Natesan.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M issued notice to the Centre, Natesan, the Kerala government and the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on the plea filed by the Sree Narayana Dharma Prabodhana Samrakshna Samithi.
Advocate Jaishankar V Nair appeared for the Union government during the hearing.
The court has posted the matter for further consideration on March 12.
Natesan, a prominent Ezhava leader and general secretary of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, was named last month for the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third-highest civilian award.
