Sabarimala protest case: Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan assures speedy completion of processes
Thiruvananthapuram:
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today said instructions will be given to expedite government-level procedures to withdraw police cases registered during the Sabarimala and anti-CAA protests in the state.
He said the government had issued orders in February this year itself to take necessary action to withdraw the cases which were “not of serious criminal nature” in relation to the incidents.
Based on the order, the state DGP – the senior-most police officer – had directed district collectors and district police chiefs to look into the nature and current status of each such case registered in their respective areas, Mr. Vijayan told the state assembly. .
A panel consisting of IGs and Special Cells of Crime Branch and Superintendents of State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) has been constituted to collect information related to such cases and to inquire into its nature and status.
The committee was also tasked to codify information relating to the steps required to withdraw such cases, the chief minister said while responding to a submission by opposition leader VD Satheesan on the issue.
Each case has to be investigated separately and it can be withdrawn under Section 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure only with the permission of the court, he explained.
“The government has limitations in this regard as it is a matter within the purview of the judiciary. Nevertheless, the concerned authorities will be directed to complete the processes at the government level at the earliest,” Vijayan said.
The opposition Congress had welcomed the decision of the CPI(M)-led LDF government to withdraw the cases ahead of the April 6 assembly elections.
Around 2,000 cases related to Sabarimala agitation were registered in various districts of the state during 2018-19.
The Nair Service Society (NSS), a prominent caste-based organization in the state that was at the fore in the ‘Namajpa Yatra’ as part of the Sabarimala movement, had earlier demanded withdrawal of cases against the protesters.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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