THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after she linked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family members to the gold and dollar smuggling cases, key accused Swapna Suresh was booked by the Cantonment police here on charges of rioting and criminal conspiracy. Kerala Janapaksham leader and former MLA P C George was also arraigned as the second accused in the FIR registered based on the complaint of Tavanur MLA K T Jaleel, who was among those named by Swapna on Tuesday.
Jaleel filed the complaint alleging that Swapna entered into a criminal conspiracy with George to defame him, the CM and his family. The former minister, whom Swapna had accused of having a role in gold smuggling, also said she made derogatory statements and ran a fake campaign to defame him and disrupt peace and stability in the state.
The cases have been registered under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 153 (wantonly giving provocation with an intent to cause riot) of the IPC on the basis of the legal opinion from the deputy director of prosecution. The police headquarters in a communique said a special team led by a senior officer will handle the probe. Both charges are bailable. Jaleel’s complaint came close on the heels of CPM leaders’ response that there were conspiracies to malign the CM and the government.
In the morning, Pinarayi had a meeting with state police chief Anil Kant. Though the police headquarters maintained it was a routine meeting to review law and order in the state, there were indications that the allegations raised by Swapna were discussed too.
Unperturbed by the developments, Pinarayi on Wednesday attended the 49th annual conference of the Secretariat Employees Association, where he said the LDF government was facing a campaign of lies. He added that the government had survived the “flood of lies” and was reelected to power as people had trust in it.
FIR will be quashed if challenged: Legal experts
The slapping of Section 153 related to rioting took legal experts by surprise. “The SC has given clear instructions on using the IPC Section. If Swapna challenges the FIR in HC, it is sure to be quashed,” said a senior lawyer seeking anonymity.
In Aroon Purie vs H L Verma case of 1998, the SC had observed that for slapping Section 153, the act committed must be illegal, with a malafide intention and the offence ‘rioting’ must be the outcome of the act. In the Anbumani Ramadoss vs State of Tamil Nadu case in 2021, the SC ruled that when a person is expressing dissent for non-action of the government against some bad elements, such statements could not be construed to mean to incite violence and riot.
After lodging his complaint, Jaleel told reporters that there was a conspiracy behind Swapna raising false allegations. “This allegation was not raised when she gave statements to the magistrate under Section 164 of CrPC. We are not afraid of any investigation. Even if any Central agency launches a probe, it cannot move an inch ahead in this matter. We can say that with full confidence,” he said, adding that the Congress, BJP and the Muslim League were jointly trying to target the LDF government.
VIGILANCE PICKS UP SARITH
High drama unfolded in Palakkad on Wednesday after vigilance officials picked up smuggling accused P S Sarith from his flat, allegedly for questioning him over the LIFE Mission scam. However, Sarith later said he was not asked a single question about the case. “They wanted to know at whose behest Swapna spoke to media the day before,” he said.
Campaign of lies: CM
An unperturbed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while inaugurating an event in the capital, said the government was facing a campaign of lies. He said the LDF government had survived the “flood of lies” and was reelected to power as people had trust in it.