Govt issues order to reinstate pro-Left court staff suspended for secretly recording judge’s phone calls

Kottayam: The state government has issued orders to immediately reinstate a court employee who was suspended for discreetly recording the mobile phone conversation of a judge.

The order relates to K R Sherly, a selection grade confidential assistant in Kottayam Vigilance Court who is also the district joint secretary of Kerala Gazetted Officers’ Association (KGOA), a pro-left organisation. Sherly was suspended for recording confidential matters related to the Vigilance Court and was also charged with availing unauthorised leave. The suspension order was served on August 25 last year.

When the authorities detected Sherly’s misconduct, she submitted a written apology. The judge found details of the recordings on examining Sherly’s phone in the presence of the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) and other court employees. There were recordings of 28 conversations in Sherly’s phone, including those of the Muvattupuzha Vigilance Judge.

The government order to reinstate Sherly in service was issued after approving an appeal from her.

Incidentally, the chargesheet in the case needs to be submitted only within six months. According to Sherly, she recorded the phone conversations to carry out her duties sincerely. The Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge in Thiruvananthapuram closed Sherly’s appeal by ruling that it was not required to keep her in suspension for proceeding with disciplinary action. The Special Judge also said that Sherly could be posted in any suitable place except the Kottayam Vigilance Court, based on which the government issued the latest order to reinstate her.

However, the last date to reply to the first memo served on Sherly by the Vigilance Court early this month is January 22. Further procedures on the government order are likely to be taken only after receiving a reply to this memo.