KASARGOD: The culmination of the 24-hour hunger strike by Kasaragod MP Rajmohan Unnithan and the fathers of slain Youth Congress workers Kripesh, 19, and Sarath Lal PK, 24, saw some anxious moments. About 350km away, the Kerala High Court was set to rule on whether the CBI should probe the double murder allegedly committed by CPM workers. “We were expecting a favourable order, so we extended our fast till the verdict was out,” said Sathyanarayanan, Sarath’s father.
The 24-hour hunger strike was set to end at 10am. But at 10.20am, the news reached them that the division bench of the High Court upheld the order of the single bench. The CBI will now investigate the case. Sathyanarayanan said he felt relieved that the CBI could fearlessly conduct the investigation without interference, as it was not under the state government. The government had aggressively opposed the move, first before the single bench and then appealing against the verdict before the division bench. According to Rajmohan Unnithan, MP, the government spent around `1 crore to stop the CBI from taking over the case. “The state tried to sabotage the investigation at two levels. First, by conducting an untrustworthy investigation. And then, by trying to stop the CBI from taking over the probe,” he said.
Writ petition
Sathyanarayanan and Kripesh’s father Krishnan filed a writ petition before the chief justice of the High Court against the inordinate delay by the division bench in giving a verdict on appeal. They cited the 2001 Supreme Court judgment on the Anil Ravi vs Government of Bihar case. The apex court had ruled that once the hearing was over, the courts should give the verdict in six months. If there was a delay, the aggrieved party could file a writ before the HC chief justice. “After this, the court should give its judgment in two days. Else, a new bench should be constituted and the case reheard,” said Unnithan. “So we were expecting the verdict today,” he said on Tuesday.
Father anxious
Though the families welcomed the verdict, they are anxious about how the CBI probe will pan out. “Our sons were killed on February 17. The bench completed the hearing on November 16, 2019, but did not give the judgment for nine months. I hope the evidence was not destroyed or lost,” said Sathyanarayanan. He feared digital evidence such as phone records could be erased after one year.
“The police filed a chargesheet that would help the accused. The single bench had said there cannot be a fair trial with that chargesheet,” he said, adding that the police did not even find the murder weapons and went by the confession of the first accused, A Peethambaran, a CPM leader. “We hope our children will get justice now,” he said.
Double Murder and Road to Justice
February 17, 2019: Youth Congress workers Sarath Lal P K and Kripesh hacked to death. State govt changes probe team thrice.
May 20, 2019: Crime Branch (CB) submits a 980-page chargesheet in the case at Hosdurg court. It arrests 14 persons — all leaders, members, and sympathisers of the CPM. Later, families move HC after finding the chargesheet riddled with loopholes favouring the accused.
September 30, 2019: Single bench of Kerala HC quashes chargesheet, transfers the case to CBI, asks it to file a new FIR.
October 25, 2019: Families file contempt of court plea as the case file was not transferred to the CBI. The same day, CBI files FIR.
October 31, 2019: Govt appeals before division bench against CBI probe.
November 4, 2019: Division bench refuses to stay CBI probe.
November 16, 2019: Division Bench completes hearing.
February 24, 2020: Owing to delay in verdict, families stage dharna before the HC.
August 24, 2020: Families file writ plea before Chief Justice for judgment on appeal.
HC flays police over lapses in investigation
Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday observed that the police probe team ignored the directions of the supervising officer of the SIT that probed the Periya twin murder case. The court noted that the supervising officer had asked the team to find out if there was an eyewitness to the incident. He also asked them to collect CCTV footage available in the locality to identify any such eyewitness. However, there was no serious investigation on those aspects, the court said. This failure may create a missing link in the chain of the circumstances, the High Court said.
Verdict big blow to LDF govt, say Cong leaders
T’Puram: The KPCC leadership has welcomed the High Court single bench’s dismissal of the government plea against a CBI probe into the Periya case. Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala said the verdict was a big blow to the government which had entrusted lawyers from Supreme Court to take up the case for a whopping D1 crore. KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran too called the verdict a jolt to the high-handedness of the LDF Government. Former chief minister Oommen Chandy said justice was met for the families of Kripesh and Sarath Lal, who met with a tragic end one-and-a-half years ago.