Kerala HC grants bail to four PFI men in 2022 murder case
Popular Front of India
(PFI). Sreenivasan was murdered at Melamuri Junction in Palakkad on April 16, 2022, allegedly by PFI men.
A bench comprising Justices V Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar passed the order by allowing the petitions filed by the accused challenging the NIA special court, Ernakulam, which had dismissed their bail applications. The bench directed that each accused be released on bail upon executing a bond of Rs 1 lakh with two solvent sureties for the like sum to the satisfaction of the special court.
HC also imposed conditions, including that the petitioners shall not leave the revenue district of Ernakulam without prior permission of the special court; they shall surrender their passports before the court immediately; they must provide their full and updated residential address to the investigating officer (IO); they shall use only one mobile number during the bail period and communicate it to the IO and they shall report before the SHO of the police station having jurisdiction over their place of residence once every fortnight.
In 2022, Centre had declared PFI and its affiliates/frontal outfits as an 'unlawful association' under the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. It was revealed that PFI and its members were allegedly responsible for several violent incidents and murders in Kerala, creating a sense of terror in the minds of the people. Further, it was alleged that PFI, its office-bearers and its members were indulging in unlawful activities with the intent to foment disaffection against the Indian State by provoking individuals—particularly innocent members of Muslim community—to defy govt and institutions established by law.
Accordingly, Centre directed NIA to investigate the activities of PFI, including Sreenivasan's murder.
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