A Kerala High Court bench comprising Justices A. Hariprasad and MR Anitha has acquitted 4 RSS workers who were convicted by a trial court in a political murder case. The court observed that the prosecution had failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt and thus the accused are entitled to get the benefit of doubt.
The trial court had convicted the 4 accused on the charges of murdering Raveendran and Gopalakrishnan as part of a criminal conspiracy on 29/10/2007, owing to a political feud. The deceased were said to be CPI(M) sympathizers.
The High Court remarked that the seriousness of the crime by itself can not be taken as a factor to uphold the conviction. The main contention raised in this case was about the thumb impression of the deceased Raveendran said to have been affixed on FIS. The court observed that “over anxiety and enthusiasm of the investigating agency made the entire investigation artificial and shaky”.
Case: Manikandan vs. State of Kerala
Case No. – CRL.A.No.478 OF 2016
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