KOCHI: Putting jail authorities in a spot, two persons accused in separate terrorism cases and currently lodged in Thrissur High Security Prison have sought permission to join regular degree courses in law colleges after clearing the Kerala Law Entrance Examination with good scores. However, as prison rules do not permit inmates to join regular courses, they have moved the court and are waiting for a favourable decision.
Vijith Vijayan, of Kalpetta and fourth accused in the Pantheerankavu Maoist case, secured 35th rank in the law entrance examination. Similarly, Abdul Raoof, of Maruthur, Palakkad, who is the 12th accused in a case registered against Popular Front of India (PFI), is ranked 532th in the examination. Vijith is eligible to get admission to top law colleges in the state while Raoof is eligible for admission in any government or private law colleges in Kerala. The trial in Pantheerankavu case is being held at NIA Court in Kochi. In the PFI case, the NIA has filed a chargesheet and the trial is pending.
Recently, Vijith and Raoof approached the NIA Court seeking permission to attend counselling as part of the admission process. When the petitions came up for consideration, the superintendent of High Security Prison, Thrissur, raised apprehension about allowing them to attend regular courses in colleges.
In the report, it was submitted that the petitioners were allowed to appear for entrance exams on condition that the permission shall not be treated as permission to attend full-time course in regular colleges while undergoing detention. According to prison rules, the superintendent may allow a prisoner to enrol for a recognised course of a private or open university or in a distant education scheme. However, in the case of admission to a regular course, it is not practical to provide a daily escort, and there are no provisions for it in prison rules.
The counsel for both accused stated they are willing to attend the course online or offline, as allowed by the court. The court instructed jail authorities to enable them to attend counseling to complete admission formalities. Whether they can attend online or in-person classes will be decided after these formalities are completed.