The Kerala High Court on Wednesday adjourned to January 20 the hearing on an appeal filed by disqualified Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal and three others against an order of the Kavaratti Sessions Court that sentenced them to 10 years in jail for attempting to murder Mohammed Salih, son-in-law of former Union Minister P.M. Sayeed, during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
When the petition came up for hearing, Deputy Solicitor General of India S. Manu opposed the plea to suspend the sentence and release them on bail. Mr. Manu submitted that if the sentence was suspended, it would send a wrong message to the Lakshadweep society. The people of the Lakshadweep islands were peace-loving. In fact, crime such as attempt to murder seldom took place on the islands.
Counsel for the victim, Mr. Salih, contended that there was legal evidence to convict the accused. It was one of the rarest incidents that took place on the islands which were by and large peaceful. The counsel pointed out that the the very objective of the 8(3) of the Representation of the Peoples Act was to keep away criminals from active politics. The contention that there was reason to suspend the conviction was incorrect. The accused had taken the law into their hands due to their political clout.
