The Kerala High Court has observed that Popular Front of India (PFI) and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) were “extremist organisations” but not banned. “No doubt, SDPI and PFI are extremist organisations indulging in serious acts of violence. All the same, those are not banned organisations,” Justice K Haripal observed in a recent order while rejecting a plea seeking CBI probe into the killing of an RSS worker who was hacked to death in November last year in Palakkad district of the state.
The SDPI is a political party founded in 2009. It is the political offshoot of the Islamist outfit PFI.
Reacting to the court’s adverse remarks against it, the SDPI said it would file a plea seeking to expunge those observations.
“This is a very serious observation. Not a single investigation agency has made such remarks against SDPI so far. On what basis, the court made such an observation? The court’s observations should be reasonable. Here, it did not happen,” SDPI state president Muvattupuzha Ashraf Moulavi said on Friday.
Echoing the SDPI’s views, the PFI said the court’s observations against it were unjustifiable.
In a Facebook post, state PFI leader C A Rauf lamented that they were not heard by the court before making such adverse observations.
He said the PFI was also planning to take the legal route to get those remarks expunged. “The primary lesson in the administration of justice is to hear the side of the affected parties before making any comments against them. No such thing has happened in this case. It amounts to denial of natural justice,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sangh Parivar organisations welcomed the observations made by the court against PFI and SDPI, claiming that there was evidence to prove these outfits’ “inhuman anti-national activities” in the country.
K P Sasikala, leader of Hindu Aikyavedi, said both PFI and SDPI should be banned. The governments should also make sure that they should not take another form and engage in extremist activities post the ban in the country, she said.
RSS worker A Sanjith (27) was hacked to death on November 15 last year while he was taking his wife to her workplace. Police later arrested several persons, including an officer-bearer of the PFI, in the case.
In its May 5 judgement, the High Court said the Investigating Officer has denied the involvement of state level or national level leaders of the outfits in the commission of the crime.
“Merely for the reason that some of the culprits remain at large, CBI cannot be asked to conduct investigation. Here, the investigating agency does not appear to have special interest in the case or interested in shielding the culprits. In other words, partisan attitude could not be inferred,” the court said.
Observing that the culprits involved in the crime have been identified and many of them have been arrested, the High Court said if investigation is handed over to the CBI, that would result in further delay in the proceedings.
“It is not in public interest. That may also pave the way for raising demand by the accused persons for release on bail,” the court said in the order.
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