The Kerala High Court has directed the CBI to take over the investigation in the S.P. Shuhaib murder case.
Allowing the petition filed by the parents of the deceased, a Single Judge of the court observed that workers at lower levels of the political parties were used as pawns by political leaders to exterminate their political opponents.
The court felt that the case was qualified to be included in the category of cases to be booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The remand report and police investigation revealed that bombs were hurled to terrorise people who were present in the area. The assailants wanted to terrorise people and prevent their entry to the spot. Such a case should be investigated under the UAPA, the court said.
The court accepted the arguments of the petitioners that a proper and fair investigation into the case may not be possible by the local police.
The petitioners were apprehensive that a free and fair investigation may not be possible in the case by the local police as their hands were tied. They contended that the first accused in the case was a close acquaintance of many top CPI(M) leaders in the district.
Shuhaib, a Youth Congress activist, was hacked to death by assailants at Mattannur on February 12.
Suspecting a large-scale conspiracy behind the murder, the court felt that it needed to be unearthed. An investigation into the conspiracy angle would help in preventing the recurrence of such acts, the court felt.
There was nothing to show that the accused, except K. Baiju, had any enmity towards the deceased, it said.
The judge also dismissed the arguments of the State Attorney that only the Division Bench of the High Court could order a CBI investigation. Fairness of investigation was recognised as an important aspect of the rule of law. The victim was equally entitled for a fair investigation, the judge held.
It was an open secret, the judge noted, that political leaders at top level had harmonious relationship with each other, whereas it was not the case with the activists at lower levels. It was an open secret that workers at lower levels were brainwashed and used as pawns in the hands of political leaders to exterminate their rivals. Let this case be an eye-opener for such persons, the court observed.
The court directed the State authorities to render all support to the CBI to investigate the case. If the CBI felt that a fresh investigation was required in the case, it was free to approach the court. The Special Investigation Team constituted by the police should hand over the case diary and all related documents to the CBI, the court ordered.
