Kerala court slams PP Divya; says she came to event uninvited with intention to insult ADM

A Kerala Court on Tuesday observed that former Kannur District Panchayat President PP Divya had willfully and publicly insulted Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Naveen Babu which, prima facie, may have led to his death by suicide [PP Divya v The Station House Officer, Thalassery]..ADM Naveen Babu was found dead at his residence the morning after a farewell ceremony organised on the eve of his transfer to another district. During the farewell event, Divya had publicly made allegations of bribery against Babu.In its order passed earlier today denying anticipatory bail to Divya, the Thalassery Sessions Court noted that Divya, being a public servant, ought to have approached the appropriate authorities instead of publicly flinging accusations of corruption at a government servant. "In this country, we have all the machineries and authorities to handle such instances. No person is expected to take the law into hands. What was expected from a public servant like the petitioner herein who has got vast experience, is to approach the proper forum or authority Instead of doing so, under the guise of fighting against corruption, she did the alleged act, pre- planned and premeditated with the intention of insulting the deceased", the Court opined. The Court also noted that Divya allegedly went to the farewell event uninvited and invited media persons to record it and later spread it over social media. "She opted to humiliate and insult the deceased in the presence of his superior and subordinates. She got her speech in the function recorded by a local Television Channel and circulated the video even at Pathanamthitta, the native place of the deceased," the Court said..The Court also opined that granting anticipatory bail to Divya would send a wrong message to society at large..The act of the petitioner is a preplanned and premeditated one with the sole intention of insulting and humiliating a highly reputed high ranking Government official.Kerala court.After Divya was accused of driving Babu to die by suicide by her public remarks, she was removed from her post as the district panchayat president. She subsequently moved the Thalassery Sessions Court seeking anticipatory bail. In her plea, she explained that her remarks during Babu’s farewell event were not meant to pressure him, but only to promote administrative efficiency and address concerns regarding corruption.It was argued that Babu had taken this drastic step due to pending bribery complaints against him which were filed by other persons before the vigilance department. .However, the prosecution submitted that there were no such complaints. The prosecution, as well the counsel for Babu's wife, argued that Divya had made the public remarks only because Babu had not immediately acted on her recommendation to grant a no-objection certificate to a petrol pump. They also alleged that Divya was not even invited to the farewell event and that she had contacted media persons and asked them to be present. This contention was supported by the statement of the District Collector that he had merely had an informal conversation with her about the event and that she had shown up uninvited. .Ultimately, the Court rejected Divya's argument that she was just sending a message against corruption to all government servants."Here, admittedly, the accused attended a purely private inhouse function of giving farewell to the deceased, uninvited. Prima facie, there is evidence to show that she attended the function by inviting the local Television Channel, Kannur Vision to cover the function. It is beyond my comprehension, what is the business of this petitioner/accused to attend a purely private inhouse function, uninvited and that too by inviting media. The above fact clearly shows the malafide on the part of the petitioner. She has attended the function, uninvited, invited media people, got her speech recorded, telecasted and circulated even at Pathanamthitta, the native place of the deceased and where he was transferred", the Court said..The Court also noted that Divya has political connections and that the possibility of her intimidating witnesses cannot be ruled out. Accordingly, it rejected her application for bail. .Divya was represented by advocate K Viswan.Advocates John S Ralph and PM Sajitha represented Babu's wife.Public prosecutor K Ajith Kumar appeared for the State..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.