Kochi | The Kerala High Court on Thursday sought the response of the Centre on a public interest litigation opposing the Padma Bhushan being conferred on SNDP Yogam general secretary Velappally Natesan.

A bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M also issued notice to Natesan, the Kerala government and the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) seeking their stand on the plea by the Sree Narayana Dharma Prabodhana Samrakshna Samithi.

The central government was represented by advocate Jaishankar V Nair.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on March 12.

Natesan, a prominent Ezhava leader and general secretary of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, was selected for the country's third-highest civilian award last month.