Kerala HC acquits Cong leader Sudhakaran in 1995 murder conspiracy case

The Kerala high court on Tuesday quashed criminal proceedings against state Congress chief and Kannur MP K Sudhakaran in connection with an alleged conspiracy to murder Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader EP Jayarajan in a moving train in April 1995.

A bench of justice Ziyad Rahman AA allowed the criminal revision petition filed by first accused Sudhakaran and third accused Rajeevan challenging a ruling of an additional sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram.

Sudhakaran was booked under section 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code by Thampanoor police in Thiruvananthapuram for allegedly hatching a conspiracy with other accused between March 28-31, 1995, at the Thycaud Guest House to murder Jayarajan, a political rival and currently the convener of the ruling Left Democratic Front led by the CPI(M).

Subsequently, Jayarajan, while travelling from Delhi to Kerala on the Rajdhani Express on April 12, 1995, was shot at by two men around 10 am while the train was passing through Chirala in Andhra Pradesh. The CPI(M) leader sustained injuries in the incident. A first information report was registered at the Chirala railway police station though Sudhakaran was not named. Jayarajan later filed a private complaint in Kerala against the Congress leader based on which the latter was booked.

The high court on Tuesday found the proceedings against Sudhakaran and others cannot be permitted to continue as they are part of a second FIR based on the same crime and included the same offences as the first FIR filed in Chirala. “In this case, there is a specific bar in instituting the second FIR and therefore the prosecution against the petitioners are vitiated, as it violates, the rights of the petitioners including their fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the court said. “Therefore, this is a fit case in which invocation of the inherent / extraordinary powers of this court is justified, if necessary.”

Even though further investigation was proposed against Sudhakaran and others, they were never chargesheeted, the judge said. “Even if the same is treated as an instance of lack of proper investigation, still the same would not justify the registration of a second FIR, but on the other hand, at the most, it could be a case where orders for further investigation in crime 14/1995 of Chirala railway police station should have been sought,” the court said.

Sudhakaran, responding to the court verdict, expressed his happiness and accused the CPI(M) of fabricating charges to target him. “It is a tight slap for the CPI(M), which tried to finish my political career and brand me as a criminal,” he said.

Jayarajan said he would approach the Supreme Court against the high court ruling.