The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed Kerala government’s plea against the High Court’s decision ordering a CBI investigation into the Periya twin murder case. A Bench, headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao, ruled that the High Court was right in transferring the investigation to the Central Investigation Agency "to instil confidence in the minds of the writ petitioners and the public in general and to ensure that the investigation is done in a fair and impartial manner," reports LiveLaw.
In February 2019, two Youth Congress workers, 22-year old Kripesh and 24-year old Sharath Lal, were stabbed to death in Periya of the northern district of Kasaragod. The HC ordered a CBI probe into the case in October 2019, quashing the charge sheet submitted by the police.
The HC had noted that the police probe was callous, while ordering a CBI probe. The court also slammed the police probe team for not conducting a forensic examination of the weapon allegedly used, soon after it was recovered. The HC order was in response to a plea from the parents of Kripesh and Sharath in October 2019.
The government then moved the division bench of the HC against the order. The CBI in August this year told the HC that the agency was not able to take forward the investigation since the appeal filed by the state government against the agency conducting a probe had not yet been resolved by the division Bench.
The division bench, however, upheld the CBI probe, though it quashed the single bench decision of rejecting the charge sheet submitted by the Crime Branch in the case. The Kerala government moved the SC against the division bench order in September this year.
Fourteen people were arrested in connection with the murders. Peethambaran, the prime accused in the case, is a local CPI(M) leader.