The Kerala High Court recently directed the state government to consider an NGO’s plea for the appoinment of a new NRI (Non-Resident Indians) Commission Chairman to address the grievances of Malayali expatriates and make a decision within four months.
A single-judge Justice P V Kunhikrishnan directed the Kerala government to make a decision on the representation sent to it by the NGO ‘Pravasi Legal Cell’, which had approached the court claiming that the NRI Commission had been inactive for several months following the retirement of its chairman.
With the direction, the bench dismissed the NGO’s plea, which claimed that the lack of a functioning NRI Commission left several grievances and disputes of expatriates unresolved.
The order was confirmed by advocate Jose Abraham, the president of the NGO, which had asked the state government in its plea to activate the Commission by appointing its chairman without further delay.
In its petition, the NGO also stated that it had filed a representation for the appointment of a chairman in March, 2023, but that the government had taken no action on it.
