KOCHI: The CBI Court on Monday accepted the supplementary chargesheet filed by the CBI against six more accused persons, including senior CPM leader P Jayarajan, in the Kathiroor Manoj murder case.
Though the counsel for the accused strongly opposed the CBI procedure to obtain prosecution sanction under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) from the Central Government, the court said such matters could be challenged in the later stages of the case.
The court said after going through the documents produced by the CBI, it could find there was a case against the accused in the supplementary chargesheet. The court ordered the accused, including P Jayarajan, to appear before it on November 16.The defence lawyer contended prosecution sanction in a case registered under UAPA should be given by the state government. Only the state government has the jurisdiction in this regard since the crime took place in Kerala.
Even the NIA has to obtain sanction from the state government in cases charged under UAPA. It means the role of the state government is not over once a case is transferred to the CBI or NIA, the defence counsel said.He also cited an instance in the Parliament attack case when the authority over giving prosecution sanction was debated in the Supreme Court.
However, the counsel for the CBI submitted, in the Parliament attack case, the court decided in favour of the prosecution obtaining sanction from the Central Government. He said both the Centre and the state government have the authority to give sanction. He said the CBI rightly obtained sanction from the Central Government in the case.
Manoj, an RSS activist and a resident of Kathiroor, was hacked to death allegedly by CPM activists on September 1, 2014. The case, initially probed by the Kerala police, was later handed over to the CBI. The CBI has chargesheeted 25 accused persons in the case.