Kerala High Court denies bail to seven PFI members in 2022 RSS leader murder case

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The Kerala High Court on Friday rejected the bail pleas of seven Popular Front of India (PFI) members, accused in the 2022 murder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader SK Srinivasan in Palakkad district.

According to news agency PTI, the accused are also facing trial for allegedly inciting communal violence in Kerala and other parts of the country.

A bench of justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and KV Jayakumar said that on careful consideration of the materials on record, it was of the view that the prosecution has succeeded in showing that the allegations against the seven accused "are prima facie true".

Srinivasan, a former district leader and office-bearer of RSS, was attacked by a six-member gang at his motorbike shop in Melamuri, Palakkad, less than 24 hours after a PFI leader, Subair, was allegedly killed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in a nearby village.

The Kerala High Court noted that according to the records, one of the seven accused had arranged the motorcycle used by the assailants "to conduct a recce for locating the target [Srinivasan] and carrying out the terrorist act."

The court also noted that the records indicated that two of the accused had conducted a recce of the target on April 15, 2022.

Additionally, several documents, notices, magazines, and other items seized from the house of the another accused included the controversial question paper linked to the 2010 "hand chopping case." Professor TJ Joseph's palm was chopped off in 2010 in Idukki district after he was accused of insulting Prophet Mohammed in a question paper for an internal examination.

In light of these factors, the Kerala High Court ruled the seven accused "are not entitled to be released on bail."

The decision followed the accused person's plea challenging the National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court's refusal to grant them bail.

Initially, 51 persons were named as accused in connection with the murder of Srinivasan on April 16, 2022. One of the arrested suspects died, while seven others remain absconding.

The charge sheets for the remaining accused were filed in two phases: in July and December 2022.

During the investigation into the murder, the Centre received intelligence suggesting that office-bearers and members of PFI and its affiliates in Kerala had conspired to instigate communal violence and radicalise their cadre to carry out terrorist acts in Kerala and other parts of the country, the high court said.

In September 2022, the Centre directed NIA to take over the investigation of the case against the accused.

On September 28, 2022, the Centre declared PFI a banned organisation.

Last year, NIA filed its chargesheets, after which the accused filed their bail pleas before the special court.

In June, the court granted bail to 17 of the accused in the case but denied relief to nine others.

(With PTI inputs)