The Kerala High Court has quashed the death sentence given to R. Baiju, a former CPI(M) local leader and Chairman of the Cherthala Municipal Standing Committee, accused of murdering Divakaran, a member of the Indian National Congress.

The Court held that the murder charge was not substantiated and ruled that Baiju could only be found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

In that context, the Bench of Justice PB Suresh Kumar and Justice MB Snehalatha observed that, “The assailants did not carry any lethal weapons and they committed the alleged acts with wooden logs secured by them from the property of the deceased itself. We do not, therefore, find any satisfactory material to hold that accused 1 to 4 and 6 had the object of committing the murder of the deceased. If the object of the conspiracy was to commit murder of the deceased, we are of the view that the assailants would have certainly carried some weapons with them.”

As per the prosecution case, the incident began when R. Baiju's group visited Divakaran's house to sell coir mats under a government scheme. Divakaran, uninterested in buying the mats, rejected the offer, leading to an altercation during which Baiju threw a mat at him before leaving. Divakaran's son later questioned the sale in a Ward Council Meeting, eliciting a sharp response from Baiju. That night, a group of people came to Divakaran's house and assaulted him, his son, and daughter-in-law with wooden logs, vandalizing their house. Divakaran died from a head injury sustained during the assault. Notably, the Left Democratic Front was in power in both the Municipality and the State at the time.

The High Court concluded that the prosecution failed to establish that the accused intended to commit murder. It noted that the assailants called out the deceased's son, followed him, and attacked him; the deceased and his daughter-in-law were only attacked when they intervened. The Court observed that the accused did not carry lethal weapons but used wooden logs obtained from the deceased’s property, indicating that their intention was to cause grievous harm, not murder.

Despite R. Baiju being part of the conspiracy, the Court held that his presence at the scene could not be proven, but he was still deemed liable due to his involvement in the conspiracy. The Court acknowledged that while the accused might not have intended to cause death, they had the knowledge that their actions were likely to cause death. Consequently, the High Court found Baiju guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years along with a fine.

Cause Title: State vs R Baiju (Neutral Citation: 2024:KER:58446)

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Kerala High CourtJustice PB Suresh KumarJustice MB SnehalathaMurder

Ananya Soni