In the wake of the High Court’s rejection of Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] district secretary P. Jayarajan’s plea seeking to quash the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) charges against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the Kathirur Manoj murder case, the CPI(M) district leadership here said that it would go in appeal against the verdict.
“The High Court Division Bench will be approached to appeal against the verdict of the Single Bench of the court in the Kathirur Manoj case,” said a single sentence press note issued on behalf of the CPI(M)’s district committee on Thursday in response to the court order which is seen as a setback for the CPI(M) leader arraigned as an accused in the murder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary E. Manoj at Ukkasmotta, near Kathirur, on September 1, 2014. The CBI’s charge-sheet listed 19 accused in the case. The CBI investigation identified political vengeance as the primary motive behind the planned murder.
The announcement of the party’s decision to appeal against the Single Bench’s verdict is not unexpected as the CPI(M) district committee went for a three-day public fund collection in the district last month for raising funds to fight cases against Mr. Jayarajan and others facing charges under the UAPA in connection with political murder cases. The fund-raising campaign was named ‘UAPA case fund.’ The party leaders then said that the fund collection was being taken up because of huge financial burden for handling 'the UAPA case.' The CPI(M) has not officially announced the total amount that has been raised through the fund collection programme.
Ever since Mr. Jayarajan was arraigned as accused in the case, his stand has been that he was charge-sheeted by the CBI as part of a political witch hunt by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government. His contention was that the CBI had invoked the UAPA in the case without the State government’s consent. Mr. Jayarajan had been remanded in judicial custody after his surrender in the case on February 12, 2016. He had been granted conditional bail by the district session s court at Thalassery on March 23.
