In a relief to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed the proceedings in the criminal case initiated against him over his Nava Kerala Sadas speech of 2023 which had allegedly instigated political violence.
Photo: IANS
In a relief to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed the proceedings in the criminal case initiated against him over his Nava Kerala Sadas speech of 2023 which had allegedly instigated political violence.
A single bench of Justice VG Arun stayed for three months the proceedings before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ernakulam taken against CM Vijayan for alleged case of abetment under Section 109 of the Indian Penal Code(IPC).
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The Magistrate had taken cognisance of a complaint filed by Congress leader Muhammed Shiyas, alleging that CM Vijayan’s November 2023 speech, made after black flag protests in Kannur, had led to attacks on Youth Congress members across Kerala.
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The case stemmed from an incident on November 20, 2023 when members of the Youth Congress attempted to obstruct the CM’s convoy during the state-wide Nava Kerala Sadas tour.
In his petition, Chief Minister Vijayan said the speech in question, which was delivered a day after the said incident, only praised the bystanders who had prevented protestors from falling in front of the moving bus. The speech had only described their conduct as “life-saving” and had not called for any retaliation or violence, the CM said in the petition.
After this speech, there were three separate political violence incidents reported in different parts of Kerala. In each case, the police registered FIRs (First Information Reports) but none of these mentioned or blamed the Chief Minister, the petition said
Nevertheless, the complainant, a political functionary, filed a private complaint before the CJM at Ernakulam alleging that the petitioner’s speech amounted to abetment of these incidents, it said
Though the Police submitted a report under Section 202 CrPC finding no material against the petitioner, the Magistrate rejected the negative report and opined that the petitioner’s speech prima facie amounts to instigation of criminal offences, the petition further said.
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