The Kerala High Court on Thursday upheld the life imprisonment awarded by the Ernakulam Additional Sessions Court to three persons found guilty of murdering DYFI activist Vidyadharan of Tripunithura.
A Division Bench comprising Justice K T Sankaran and Justice B Kemal Pasha passed the order while dismissing the appeal filed by first accused Jaison of Udayamperoor, fourth accused Jyothish of Karimugal and fifth accused Faisal of Panangad.
They were found guilty under Sections 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 143 (punishment for unlawful assembly), 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 364 (kidnapping to murder), 302(punishment for murder), and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the IPC, read with Section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC. There were altogether nine accused, of which six were acquitted. The prosecution case was that DYFI leader Vidyadharan of Udayamperoor was abducted by the accused on September 3, 2003, and was beaten to death at Plantation Corporation Estate at Ayyampuzha.
His body was found dumped near Ambalamukal later. Jaison and other accused had hatched a conspiracy to eliminate the DYFI activist.
The first accused had kidnapped Vidhyadharan with the intention of eliminating him and had severely tortured him.
The High Court wondered how the Sessions Court could acquit some of the accused, especially in the light of concrete evidence of Santhosh, an accused-turned-approver.
However, the court held that the conviction passed by the Sessions Court was not liable to be interfered with.
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