Kerala High Court seeks state's view in Anchery murder case
Mani made a controversial statement claiming that a list of 13 political opponents had been prepared to kill them.
Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Monday sought the state government's view on a petition filed by CPM Idukki district secretary K.K. Jayachandran and CITU leader A.K. Damodaran challenging the Thodupuzha sessions court order making them accused in the Anchery Baby murder case.
The petitioners submitted that the decision of the sessions court was illegal. The statement of the witnesses had not revealed anything about an alleged conspiracy between the petitioners to commit the offence. When the final report and the statement of witnesses did not unearth the alleged complicity of the petitioners, the sessions court went wrong in invoking section 193 of Criminal Procedure Code to implicate them as additional accused. When a person is not named in the final report and later is directed to implicate him as additional accused, there should be a clear nature of offence against him/her.
It was on November 13, 1982 that Anchery Baby, a Youth Congress leader of Idukki, was shot dead. The case, which had been closed earlier, was reopened after Mr M.M. Mani made a controversial statement claiming that a list of 13 political opponents had been prepared to kill them.