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Anti-constitution remark: Kerala HC dismisses plea for CBI probe

Dismissing a petition filed by Baiju Noel, a lawyer in the high court, the court said that the demand for the CBI inquiry into Saji Cherian’s anti-constitution speech is immature at this stage.

Statesman News Service | Kochi | January 19, 2023 1:37 pm

Anti-constitution remark: Kerala HC dismisses plea for CBI probe

Kerala High Court [File Photo]

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking a CBI probe against state cultural minister Saji Cherian for his alleged anti-constitutional speech.

Dismissing a petition filed by Baiju Noel, a lawyer in the high court, the court said that the demand for the CBI inquiry into Saji Cherian’s anti-constitution speech is immature at this stage. It directed the petitioner to approach the magistrate court against the police report.

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The court further said that the magistrate court can be approached with a stay petition against the referral report of the investigation team.

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The referral report of the police says there was no evidence against Saji Cherian for his alleged anti-constitution speech. However, Biju, in his petition, argued that the police investigation was botched up to save the minister. “Not even the statements of the witnesses were recorded accurately,” Biju stated in his petition.

Earlier, the Kerala High Court had rejected a petition seeking disqualification of Cherian from the Assembly in view of his speech allegedly insulting the constitution. Petitioner Biju V Cheruman sought an order from the court declaring Cherian not entitled to hold the office of the legislator in view of his controversial speech.

A three-minute video clip of Saji Cherian addressing a CPI-M event at Mallappally in Pathanamthitta had gone viral. The video purportedly showed him saying the Constitution “condones exploitation” and is written in a way helping to “plunder” people of the nation.

“We all say that we have a beautifully written Constitution. But, I will say, the Constitution is written in such a way that it can be used to plunder the people of the country,” Saji Cheriyan said.

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The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to M K Nasar, one of the individuals convicted by the special NIA court last year in the case of chopping the hands of Professor T J Joseph in 2010. A division bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice P V Balakrishnan suspended Nasar’s sentence and granted conditional bail to him after considering his appeal against the NIA court’s conviction in the case Considering the prolonged detention and citing the potential for trial delays, the court suspended Nasar’s sentence and granted conditional bail, taking into account that some co-accused with similar allegations had already been released after serving shorter terms. The court noted that he had already spent nine years in jail and that delays in resolving appeals could justify suspending a convict’s prison term. It also observed that other accused in the case had received lesser sentences and had already been released after serving their terms. “The applicant has been undergoing incarceration, at the pre-conviction and post-conviction phases, for over 9 years. Furthermore, the fact that the accused facing the same allegations were earlier imposed a lesser term of imprisonment and have been released after having undergone the sentence is a factor that cannot be ignored. Additionally, the appeals filed by the NIA against the findings of the learned Sessions Judge are being considered in separate appeals, which have not yet been taken up. “There is also the likelihood of delay, as the prime accused has surrendered, and the learned Sessions Judge may have to take up the trial and dispose of it in accordance with the law and some of the original records may be required for that purpose. In view of these facts and circumstances, we are of the considered opinion that the sentence imposed on the applicant can be suspended pending the consideration of the appeal.” The court said The court, however, imposed strict conditions for Nasar’s bail. He is not supposed to provide a bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties, refrain from leaving the country without the court’s permission, avoid interfering with the trial or witnesses, and not commit similar offences while on bail The gruesome incident dates back to July 4, 2010, when Joseph, a professor at Newman College, Thodupuzha, was returning from Sunday mass with his family, members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) attacked him, allegedly in retaliation for a question paper he set, which contained a passage that they claimed insulted Prophet Mohammed was derogatory. His right hand was chopped off in this attack. Nasar was accused of playing a critical role in the attack. Investigations revealed his involvement in recruiting gang members, assigning specific tasks, collecting funds, procuring communication devices, and maintaining communication links with key conspirators.

The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to M K Nasar, one of the individuals convicted by the special NIA court last year in the case of chopping the hands of Professor T J Joseph in 2010.