The Kerala High Court has temporarily halted a lower court's ruling that discharged BJP state president K Surendran and five others from the Manjeshwar election bribery case. A notice will be issued to Surendran regarding this development.
Kochi: In a significant blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala, the High Court has temporarily suspended a lower court's decision to discharge BJP state president K Surendran and five others from the Manjeshwar election bribery case. The High Court will issue a notice to K Surendran regarding this matter.
On October 5, Kasaragod Sessions Judge Sanu S Panicker granted the discharge plea for Surendran and the others, stating that the first accused, Surendran, was cleared of charges under various sections of the IPC and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989.
Relief for Kerala BJP chief K Surendran; Court acquits him in Manjeswaram election bribery case
The government submitted the appeal in response to claims of collusion between the CPM and BJP regarding the case. The Chief Minister addressed this in a written response to a question raised by the opposition in the Assembly. The opposition accused the acquittal of Surendran of being part of a deal between the CPM and RSS.
Surendran was charged under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which are non-bailable, and under sections 171 (B) and (E) (Bribery) of the Indian Penal Code.
BSP candidate Sundara alleged that he was initially threatened and subsequently offered Rs 2.5 lakh as a bribe by the BJP to withdraw from the election. He claimed that the money and a smartphone were given to him by Sunil Naik, a Yuva Morcha leader and a close associate of Surendran. The BJP, however, has denied these allegations.
Although the CrPC mandates that a charge sheet must be filed within a year for election bribery cases, the investigation team submitted the charge sheet for the incident that occurred on March 21, 2021, only on October 1, 2023. Neither the investigation team nor the prosecution adhered to the requirement to file the charge sheet within the stipulated time frame for a crime that carries a maximum punishment of one year. While an interim charge sheet was filed, this issue was not addressed in the final charge sheet, and the prosecution failed to inform the court about it. The court also noted that the case was registered 78 days after the incident took place.
The investigation team gathered evidence regarding the abduction of Sundara to withdraw his nomination papers, as well as the payments and rewards, including money and a mobile phone. However, they failed to effectively present this information to the court. Sundara alleged that BJP leaders offered him Rs 2.5 lakh and a mobile phone worth Rs 8,800 as a bribe to withdraw his candidacy. These allegations were first reported by Asianet News, after which V.V. Ramesh, the LDF candidate, filed a complaint requesting an investigation into the matter.