
Kerala – HC upholds the judgment of trial court, overturns acquittal of two accused
The High Court has upheld the judgment of the trial court in the TP Chandrasekharan murder case. The High Court upheld the verdict that sentenced life imprisonment for 11 accused individuals, including MC Anoop, Kirmani Manoj, Kodi Suni, TJ Rajeesh, CPI(M) Panoor area committee member PK Kunjananthan, and a three-year sentence for Kannur resident Lambu Pradeep. The court also overturned the trial court’s judgment acquitting Jyothi Babu and KK Krishnan, ruling them guilty and subject to punishment.
The court’s decision came in response to a petition filed by the defendants seeking to quash the original verdict. Furthermore, the court rejected the plea from the late CPI(M) leader PK Kunjananthan’s wife to cancel the fine and ruled that Kunjananthan’s family must pay the imposed fine.
The murder of TP Chandrasekharan, founder of the Revolutionary Marxist Party, occurred in May 2012 when he was brutally hacked to death by a gang while returning home on his bike. The UDF government formed a special investigation team, leading to the arrest of 76 individuals in connection with the case.
On January 22, 2014, the Additional Sessions Court in Kozhikode sentenced 11 individuals to life imprisonment and one person to three years’ jail term. PK Kunjanandan, a former Panoor area committee member of the CPI(M), passed away while serving his sentence on June 11, 2020. One person has completed his jail term, while the remaining 10, except Kodi Suni, were granted parole three months ago.