Kerala High Court allows murder convict to get admission in LL.B. course

The Kerala High Court on Thursday paved the way for a murder convict to complete the admission process for a Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) course. [Pattakka Suresh Babu v. State of Kerala].A Bench of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Kauser Edappagath directed the KMCT Law College, Kuttipuram to make necessary arrangements for the convict, Pattakka Suresh Babu, to complete admission formalities online by Saturday, October 7."The admission formalities of the petitioner/appellant to the 3 year LLB course at KMCT Law College, Kuttipuram shall be done through online mode tomorrow [07.10.2023] at 12.00 noon. The Jail Superintendent, Open Prison and Correctional Home, Cheemeni, Kannur shall coordinate with the Principal of the KMCT Law College to make necessary arrangements for the video conference," the order stated. .Babu was convicted and sentenced to life for committing offences punishable under Sections 143, 148, 341, 307 and 302 (murder) read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code.He has already undergone five years of imprisonment and is at present serving the remaining sentence at the Open Prison and Correctional Home, Cheemeni, Kannur.Babu is a graduate in BA Economics and also completed a distant education program in MA (Sociology) from Indira Gandhi National Open University while serving his sentence. He then cleared the law entrance exam and secured admission at the KMCT Law College.To complete his admission process and pursue his LL.B., Babu moved the High Court seeking bail..The High Court spoke to the Controller of Examinations and the Principal of the college to ascertain the feasibility of conducting the admission process and allowing Babu to pursue his course online.Both of them told the Court that the admission process can be done online and that they would make arrangements for the same. Accordingly, the Court directed the jail and college authorities to enable the same.Regarding allowing Babu to pursue the course online, the Principal submitted that she will consult college authorities and make a proposal at the next hearing which is scheduled for October 25..Advocate Nandagopal S Kurup appeared for the convict, while Advocate EC Bineesh represented the state..[Read Order]