KOCHI: In a relief to Samakalika Malayalam Vaarika, the Kerala High Court on Friday disposed of the anticipatory bail pleas of its Editor and Special Correspondent in a case related to the publication of an interview of former state police chief T P Senkumar in which he allegedly made remarks that seemed to promote enmity between religious groups. The court issued the order on the petitions filed by Saji James and P S Ramshad, the Editor and Senior Correspondent of the Vaarika - a sister publication of The New Indian Express - respectively.
C P Udayabhanu, the counsel for the petitioners, submitted they have not committed any offence as alleged in the FIR. The petitioners were truly presenting the views expressed by Senkumar without adding or subtracting anything given by him in the interview. When the bail plea came up for hearing, the investigating officer submitted both the petitioners are not so far included in this case as accused. As of now, the custodial interrogation of them is not required. Recording the submission since the petitioners are not arraigned as accused in the crime, there was no need to interfere in the case, the court said.
The case of the prosecution is that a complaint was lodged against Senkumar and the Editor of Samakalika Malayalam Vaarika that comments made by Senkumar were likely to and were intended to incite communal disharmony, enmity and hatred among certain communities. The counsel also said if the entire prosecution materials were accepted in toto that will not be sufficient to constitute the offence under Section 153 A (1) (a) against the petitioners. In the interview, Senkumar had said the rise in child birthrates among Muslims will change the demography of the state, adding the Muslim community accounts for 42 per cent of the childbirths in the state. He pointed out the birth rate among Hindus, who constitute 54 pc of the population, is below 48 pc, while that among Christians forming 19.5 pc of the population is 15 pc.
HC EXPRESSES DOUBT OVER CASE AGAINST SENKUMAR
The Kerala High Court on Friday expressed doubt over the sustainability of offence against T P Senkumar for the offence under Section 153A (for promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion) of the IPC. The court while disposing of the bail plea of Malayalam Varika Editor and its correspondent observed the matter should be inquired thoroughly and it was doubtful whether the offence alleged against Senkumar would be attracted. The court noticed remarks in the interview by Senkumar are only an opinion and that cannot be termed as an ingredient to constitute the offence. The court had earlier granted anticipatory bail to Senkumar. The case had been registered by the cyber crime police station in Thiruvananthapuram following the publication of his remarks on the Muslim population growth in the state.