The Kozhikode Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court on Tuesday acquitted Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI) leader K.K. Rema, MLA, in a case filed by CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan against calling CPI(M) leader P. Jayarajan a ‘killer’ on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.
Writing the judgement, CJM A. Fathima Beevi ruled that the charges against Ms. Rema would not stand. The case was based on a remark made by Ms. Rema at a news conference held on March 17, 2019.
Then Mr. Balakrishnan had lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer alleging that Ms. Rema’s statement that her party was supporting the UDF candidate in the Lok Sabha elections to defeat the ‘killer Jayarajan’ would adversely affect his chances of winning the polls.
The complaint had been sent to the State Police Chief (SPC) and the Director General of Police. Following this, the State Police Chief had asked the Town police to register a criminal case against Ms. Rema.
However, the CJM found that the charges against Ms. Rema were not substantiated. The court also observed that the alleged offence would remain only when a statement was made against a candidate who was legally nominated.
At the time of making the statement, Mr. Jayarajan was not a candidate from the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency. Thus the court terminated the proceedings against Ms. Rema under Section 258 (power to stop proceedings in certain cases) of the Code of Criminal Procedure without a trial.
