Kochi: The Kerala High Court has initiated contempt of court action against CV Varghese, Idukki district secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), for proceeding with the construction of a party office in Santhanpara despite a court order to halt it. The court has also imposed a ban on CPM's use of the building until further notice.

In response to the ongoing construction of CPM party offices, including the Santanpara area committee office, the Division Bench of the HC on Tuesday issued an interim order to immediately halt the construction. However, the construction work continued on Wednesday with over 20 workers.

In response to this, the Revenue Department issued a stop-memo. Following the instructions of the Udumbanchola Tehsildar, the village officer personally handed over the order to the local secretary. A letter was also delivered to the police to ensure no further construction activities take place and to conduct surveillance.

CV Varghese, in his response, stated that after receiving a written letter from the collector on Wednesday morning, no further construction activities were carried out at the site. He expressed his intention to convince the court about the same.