The offices of the news portal Marunadan Malayali and homes of some of its reporters were raided by the police on Monday, July 3. The Kerala High Court had recently refused anticipatory bail to Shajan Skariah, the editor of the news portal who also runs a YouTube channel by the same name, in a case related to a defamation case filed by Kunnathunad CPI(M) MLA PV Sreenijin. The raids were carried out in connection with the news report aired on May 24, 2023, alleging improper administration of the Sports Hostel under Sreenijin's chairmanship of the District Sports Council.
The police raided the Marunadan Malayali office in Kochi, as well as the residences of its employees. According to reports, the raids were conducted to find out the source of the news item published against MLA Sreenijan. The report also said that gadgets of the employees, including laptops, computers, and mobile phones, were seized by the police and would be returned after the raids.
Following a complaint filed by the MLA against the channel, Shajan sought anticipatory bail from a Kerala court. The prosecution argued that Shajan was aware that Sreenijan belonged to the Scheduled Caste and was an MLA from a reserved constituency. Furthermore, they alleged that the news report contained defamatory and derogatory comments targeting the MLA. However, Shajan refuted these allegations, stating that he had no intention to defame or insult the MLA.
The Special Court for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act denied anticipatory bail to Shajan after finding merit in the allegations. Subsequently, Shajan approached the Kerala High Court, which also denied bail to him.