The Kerala High Court on Thursday issued notice to the State government and Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services on a petition filed by K.K. Rema, wife of the slain Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader T.P. Chandrasekharan, seeking to cancel the parole granted to P.K. Kunjanandan, one of the CPI(M) leaders convicted in the murder case.
When the petition came up for hearing, the court orally observed that prisoners could not be granted parole under the guise of providing them treatment. If the prisoners were suffering from any ailment, the government had to make arrangements for their treatment, the court said.
According to the petitioner, the parole granted to Kunjanandan was violative of the provisions of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Management) Act 2010. Kunjanandan was granted parole for 216 days in 29 months. In fact, parole could only be granted for specific reasons such as death or marriage of a close relative of the convict or destruction of the house according to Rule 400 of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services Rules.
He was granted parole illegally in almost all the months of 2016 and 2017. In 2018, he got parole in the months of September and October.
The murder took place on May 04, 2012 at Onchiyam in Kozhikode district. The prosecution case in the murder case was that a section of CPI(M) leaders in Kozhikode and Kannur districts allegedly hatched a conspiracy and hired a seven-member gang to kill Chandrasekharan, who had walked out of the party and floated a dissident outfit.
Twelve accused, including three leaders of the CPI(M) were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Special Additional Sessions Court in Kozhikode.