'Another Life Lost, Yet Another Prosecution Fails': Kerala High Court Acquits 13 RSS Workers In Vishnu Political Murder Case

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday acquitted 13 Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists who were booked and sentenced by a trial court for the political murder of CPI(M) activist Vishnu.

A Division Bench of Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice C. Jayachandran acquitted the workers observing that the prosecution case reeked of a deliberate attempt to tutor witnesses, collect evidence and define a scripted story.

"The sad saga of political rivalry and mindless killing, as we have noticed in many cases, tears asunder the social fabric of the State. The saga written in blood continues and the memorials held by the rival parties offer no solace to destitute parents, hapless widows and orphaned children, who often lose the only breadwinner of the family. The yearly remembrances, only stoke the fires of rivalry and do not wipe the tears of the bereaved or awaken the conscience of those who matter. Another life is lost and yet another prosecution fails, both lying on the wayside, grim reminders to the society of the futility of it all."

The Court noted that it was forced to acquit the accused of the charges levelled against them since the prosecution had miserably failed to prove the incriminating circumstances against them. 

"The eye-witness testimonies are incredulous, the identification unbelievable, the recoveries unsubstantiated and the seizures leading to nothing. There is absolutely no evidence worth its salt, and the prosecution failed to prove any corroborative circumstance, but for the political rivalry existing between two groups."

The prosecution case was that there had been violent clashes between activists of the RSS and CPI(M) in the areas since 2001, which led to a group of RSS activists hacking Vishnu to death in front of the passport office in the capital city in 2008. 

The crime was also alleged to be the result of a conspiracy hatched and the criminal acts in furtherance of the same, by the accused; a dedicated cadre of the RSS. 

The accused allegedly conspired to murder Vishnu, and in furtherance of such common intention, formed themselves into an unlawful assembly, committed rioting, armed with deadly weapons and country bombs and hacked Vishnu to death. The accused were charged with offences under Sections 120B, 143, 147, 148 and Section 302 read with Section 149 IPC.

The Thiruvananthapuram Additional Sessions Court had found them guilty and sentenced 11 of them to double life imprisonment. Aggrieved by this decision, the accused approached the High Court with an appeal.

The Bench initiated the judgment condemning the practice of political murders.  

"Political rivalry, is a simmering cauldron of intrigue, spite and deceit, often spewing out the venom of hatred, in the form of mindless bloodshed. The men in red and those saffron clad, are divided on political lines and the instant case is alleged to be the murder of one among the former, by a few in the latter group."

However, the Court noted that there were substantial omissions and contradictions in the ocular testimony of the prosecution witnesses. Further, it was noted that the recoveries and seizures in the case were strained and most of the witnesses paraded before Court had turned hostile. 

The Bench also found that three investigating officers were changed in quick succession within a period of five months; each adding to the array of accused. It also took special notice of the manner in which A12 to A16 were arrested without any evidence of their involvement and the casual manner in which they were taken into custody, the details of which or the documents relating to it, were not produced.

Therefore, the Court found there was enough indication of the possibility of the attack having been made by masked men, which stood accentuated by the absence of a Case Diary, which is mandatory as per the CrPC.

"There is a deliberate attempt visible, from the commencement of the investigation, to project half-truths and cherry-pick witnesses so as to shape the case in a particular manner."

The Court felt so since the veiled references to newspaper reports of masked men having participated in the attack, the actual reports to that effect, the deafening silence of the IOs, who refused to deny such reports outright, in the box before the Court and the GD entries placed before this Court all gave rise to very reasonable doubts as to the manner in which the attack was carried out. This casts a shadow of doubt on the identification made by the eye-witnesses, which stood heightened by the precise pictorial description by them, of the weapons and the apparel worn by the assailants.

It was also observed that although the incident lasted for hardly two minutes, one of the witnesses testified that he was left stumped. There was no possibility of observing the details of the weapons and apparel of the assailants as spoken by them.

"In many a case where the crime is the product of political rivalry, we see an over zealousness on the part of the investigating and prosecuting agency. The cherry-picked witnesses speak with precision on every minute aspect, unmindful of the disbelief it evokes. It's time that we express a caution, that the version of a witness, however exhaustive, extensive and precise the same be, is of no avail, unless it is believable and trustworthy."

The conspiracy was found to be 'nonsensical' and the witnesses 'clearly tutored', who go on a tirade of embellishments, about what transpired in a public place in broad daylight, without any of that spoken in the prior statements to the Police. The get-away was equally quick and the witnesses exaggerated on the identification and the details of the get-away vehicles.

The vehicles seized were also not confronted by the ocular witnesses or the details of their registration or connection with the suspects established. The witnesses proffered by the prosecution; whose very presence is suspect, speak on the details of the attack, the crime proper and the get-away, in a manner which makes the observations made, impossible to perceive, within the short time in which the incident is said to have occurred.

Thus, the Division Bench allowed the appeal and acquitted all the 13 accused in the case. 

The petitioners were represented by Senior Advocates B. Raman Pillai and P. Vijayabhanu assisted by Advocates Arjun Sreedhar, Mahesh Bhanu and P. Sruthi. Special Government Pleader S.U Nazar and Advocate Preetha N.V also appeared in the matter. 

Case Title: Sivalal v. State of Kerala and connected matters. 

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 344

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