The Kerala High Court is set to deliver its verdict on Monday regarding a petition seeking a CBI investigation into the death of former Kannur Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu.

A single bench of Justice Kausar Edappagam will announce the decision. The petition was filed by Manjusha, Naveen Babu’s wife, who has sought a comprehensive probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into her husband’s death.

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The High Court had reserved its order on December 12, following detailed arguments from both sides. Manjusha contended in her petition that the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death were suspicious and raised serious questions about its cause.

She expressed doubts about the conclusion that Naveen Babu’s death was a suicide by hanging, citing inefficiencies in the ongoing investigation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Manjusha’s counsel, Advocate John S. Ralph, highlighted several discrepancies in the investigation.

He pointed out that the inquest report noted bloodstains on Naveen Babu’s undergarments, yet no mention of blood or related injuries was made in the postmortem report.

This inconsistency, he argued, raises serious concerns about the investigation’s thoroughness.

The counsel further argued that the investigating officer failed to seek clarification from the medical examiner regarding the bloodstains and the possibility of internal injuries.

Additionally, he pointed out that in cases of unnatural deaths, preserving viscera and blood samples for toxicological analysis is standard practice. However, in this case, neither was preserved or examined.

The petition also raised doubts about the feasibility of Naveen Babu, weighing 55 kg, hanging himself using a small rope. Marks observed on his neck during the inquest were allegedly not mentioned in the postmortem report.

Manjusha accused the former president of the Kannur District Panchayat, P.P. Divya, of influencing the investigation due to her significant political clout.

Divya had publicly accused Naveen Babu of corruption and deliberately delaying the issuance of an NOC for a petrol pump at Chengalai during his farewell meeting on October 14, a day before his death.

Naveen Babu was found dead at his official residence in Pallikkunnu, Kannur, on the morning of October 15. The alleged public humiliation and corruption accusations against him are believed to have contributed to his death.

The court’s decision is eagerly awaited, as it could have far-reaching implications for the case and the state’s political landscape.