National Investigation Agency opposes appeals of palm-chopping accused

Kochi: The National Investigation Agency on Thursday opposed the pleas filed in the High Court by the accused in the palm-chopping case to suspend the sentence awarded by the Ernakulam NIA special court.

NIA special public prosecutor M. Ajay filed an objection statement saying that the intention of the conspirators was not only to impose extrajudicial punishment on Mr T.J. Joseph, the then lecturer of New Man College, Thodupuzha, for violating their ‘code of conduct, ’ but also to terrorise the general public to adhere to it.

According to the NIA, some of the accused were found guilty of five offences wherein the punishment could be imprisonment for life, but the special court had awarded them only eight years’ jail.

This includes the rigorous imprisonment for the offence under section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act. The punishment prescribed for the offence is imprisonment for life.

The NIA submitted that if the accused were released pending disposal of their appeals, they would escape from the law.

The NIA had on Wednesday filed the appeals seeking to enhance the punishment as well as to award imprisonment to the six persons who were acquitted by the trial court.