Court asks K C Joseph to express regret via Facebook or media

KOCHI: In the contempt of court case for criticising the high court judge, the Kerala High Court Tuesday directed Minister K C Joseph to express his regret via Facebook or media. The court said this should be a message to the future generation. The affidavit expressing regret in the case is not satisfying, observed the court. Following the direction of the court, the minister directly appeared in the court today.

The apology plea filed by the minister mentioned that the post was not meant to condemn the court and it was withdrawn soon it became controversial.

The minister should apologize to the public. Tendering apology to any media should be meaningful, he said. Meantime, the court rejected his demand to exempt from appear in person before the court on March 10.  

Joseph had criticised Justice Alexander Thomas who observed that functioning of the Advocate General’s office in the state was not efficient, and that it needed to be recouped. Sivankutty in his plea pointed out that Joseph had written on his Facebook page: “if the antecedents of the persons who made the comments are examined, there can be no surprise that the ‘jackal who fell in the indigo dye howls’, and he cannot be blamed.”