A Kerala court recently denied bail to five persons arrested for allegedly attacking Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials and damaging their cars after the agency's search at the residence of CPI (M) leader and former Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan [Nidhin Raj & ors v State of Kerala].

A Judicial First Class Magistrate in Thiruvananthapuram, Judge Tania Mary Jose rejected the bail applications on Saturday, May 30.

The court also criticised the attack of the ED officers as an offence against the State itself, adding that it appeared to be an organized political attack.

"This court cannot close eyes towards the mental and physical stress suffered by the victims. This attack can be treated as an offence against State. Granting bail to the petitioners at this stage will have a demoralizing effect in society. This attack can be treated as an assault on institution. Intention of accused persons to cause death is easily identifiable from their acts. Said attack cannot be considered as spontaneous. So there is a strong prima facie case against the petitioners/ accused persons as the same was an organized political attack and not individual quarrel."

The court opined that granting bail would adversely affect public confidence in the justice delivery system and might lead to similar acts in future.

"Public witnessed the incident through medias, channels and became aware of the mischief caused by the alleged accused persons from newspapers, channels etc,. So this case can be treated as a rare case which created an impact on the society. Alleged victims in this case were officers of Central Government Agency i.e., Enforcement Directorate. They were attacked by the protesters without any reason or without any provocation while discharging their official duties. Granting of bail at this stage will encourage the accused persons and other protesters to commit similar acts in future. So victims in these kind of cases are to be protected," the court held.

The ED officials had conducted a search on May 27 at the residence of the former CM, where he and his daughter were residing.

The search was carried out in connection with the agency's probe into the CMRL-Exalogic case, which involves allegations against Exalogic - an IT firm owned by Vijayan's daughter Veena Thaikkandiyil.

After completing the search, the officials left the premises in three taxi vehicles at around 2:40 PM.

A crowd of nearly 300 persons is reported to have surrounded the vehicle, pelted stones and bricks at it. The mob is also alleged to have used sticks and rods to attack the ED officials.

The prosecution claims that even CRPF personnel and Kerala Police officers who attempted to intervene were attacked. It is alleged that the vehicles sustained damages of approximately ₹3 lakh.

Five persons who were identified as participants in the incident were arrested on May 28 and remanded to judicial custody.

They later sought bail before a trial court. Their counsel argued that mandatory legal requirements regarding the communication of the grounds of arrest to the accused and their relatives had not been complied with, entitling them to bail.

The court, however, rejected this contention. It found that the arrest and the grounds of arrest had been communicated to relatives or friends nominated by the accused themselves. The court also observed that the accused had legal representation immediately after their arrest.

The court concluded that there was substantial compliance with the legal requirements for an arrest under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) and Article 22(1) of the Indian Constitution.

Among other arguments, the accused also argued that the offence relating to assault on a public servant would not apply because the ED officers were not on duty at the time of the incident.

The court disagreed, noting that the officers were returning after conducting an official search. Therefore, the ED officials could be presume to have been acting in the discharge of their official functions, the court said.

Advocate Madhav Sasija appeared for the accused.

Assistant public prosecutor Manu Kallampally represented the State.

[Read Order]