Periye case: Four CPI(M) leaders released from Kannur Central jail after High Court stay on sentence
The Hindu
CPI(M) leaders released after Kerala High Court suspends 5-year sentence for murder, claiming political conspiracy by CBI.
Four Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leaders, sentenced to five years imprisonment in connection with the murder of Periye Youth Congress activists Kripesh and Sarath Lal, were released from Kannur Central jail on Thursday (January 9, 2025) morning after the Kerala High Court had suspended their sentence.
Former MLA K.V. Kunhiraman, Kanhangad block panchayat president K. Manikandan, Raghavan Velutholi, and K.V. Bhaskaran walked out of jail around 9 a.m. to a grand reception led by CPI(M) leaders P. Jayarajan, M.V. Jayarajan, and M.V. Balakrishnan. Supporters greeted the released leaders with garlands.
Mr. Kunhiraman, speaking to the media, claimed the charges against them were part of a “political conspiracy” targeting the CPI(M).
“The fabricated stories by the CBI have been dispelled, and our faith in the judiciary has increased,” he remarked.
High Court stay on conviction
On Wednesday, the Kerala High Court stayed the CBI court’s five-year imprisonment ruling, granting immediate bail to the four leaders. The decision was delivered by a Division Bench comprising Justices P.B. Suresh Kumar and Jobin Sebastian, which accepted the appeal filed by the accused and issued a notice to the CBI. The case will be further heard after the CBI submits its reply.
The accused were convicted of illegally taking the victims away from police custody, a key aspect of the case. However, the legal challenge to their conviction prompted the High Court to intervene.
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