Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Monday set free the first accused V. V. Hamza whom the CBI trial court had awarded twin rigorous life term in the Chekannur Moulavi missing case.
The HC acquitted him citing lack of enough evidence to prove him guilty of murder.
The counsel for the accused argued that there is no surety that the Moulavi was murdered, and there was no body recovered.
The court said that in certain cases even if the body is not recovered, the death could be confirmed. For this, circumstantial evidence and witness account are needed. However, the investigating agency which arrested the accused could not prove what they did with the Moulavi.
It cannot be said that the Moulavi was murdered since he aligned himself with a different ideology, the court said.
His relatives filed a missing complaint with the Ponnani police on July 31, 1993, saying those including Hamza took him from home on July 29 and he never returned. The case was transferred to the CBI on November 10, 1995, and it concluded it as a murder.
The investigating team submitted a chargesheet against nine accused including Hamza in the CBI court which punished Hamza and set others free on 2010 September 29. The HC considered the appeals filed by CBI, Hamza and the uncle of Chekannur Moulavi, Salim Haji.
