Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking transfer of the investigation against Alan Shuhaib and Taha Fasal, CPI(M) activists charged with Maoist links, from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to the State police.
Mr. Vijayan has told Mr. Shah that the NIA is not justified in taking over suo motu the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case registered at the Pantheerankavu police station in Kozhikode district. (The NIA had taken over the case on December 16, 2019)
The case, though pertaining to a scheduled offence, is not serious enough to warrant an NIA investigation, he said. The NIA, on its own accord, had taken over the case which was being ‘efficiently and satisfactorily’ investigated by the State police. The NIA decision went against the declared intention of the NIA Act and court orders that stated that the national agency should weigh the seriousness of a case before taking it over from the State police.
Quotes HC verdict
The letter quotes excerpts from a Bombay High Court judgment in the Pragya Singh Chandrapal Singh Thakur vs State of Maharashtra case which observed that the Central government would not be in a position to direct that a case be investigated by the agency merely because it is a scheduled offence. Opposition parties in the Kerala Assembly have expressed the view that the State police should pursue the investigation. Further, the State government has received legal advice that the case should be retained with the State police, the Chief Minister said.
CM mellows down
Mr. Vijayan informed the State Assembly about the letter on Wednesday afternoon. A day before, Mr. Vijayan had drawn flak in the House from the Opposition United Democratic Front over his stand on the issue. By Wednesday, the Chief Minister, however, appeared to have mellowed down his stand appreciably. In writing to Mr. Shah, the State government has bowed to sentiments expressed by the Opposition on the matter, he said.