Kerala High Court declines to order CBI probe into RSS worker Sanjith's murder

The Kerala High Court on Thursday declined to order a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the murder of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh member, A Sanjith. [S Arshika v State of Kerala].Justice K Haripal dismissed a plea moved by Sanjith's wife which sought to hand over the investigation in the case to the CBI, citing lack of justifiable reasons to order the same."After considering the materials placed before Court and hearing counsel on both sides, I am also of the opinion that overwhelming reasons are not set out for transferring investigation to the CBI. As stated earlier, the Special Investigation Team, with least possible delay, identified the culprits and arrested the main accused and also main conspirators and laid the charge sheet, so that their release on default bail has been successfully pre-empted," the judgment stated.However, the Court noted that some more accused are at large. Even though the roles allegedly played by them were less important, the Court said that they must be apprehended. It, therefore, directed the State Police Chief to personally review the progress in apprehending the remaining accused and file fortnightly reports before the Court till the last accused is arrested..The RSS worker from Palakkad district was hacked to death on November 15, 2021 while he was taking his wife to her workplace. The State Police soon arrested several persons including an office bearer of the Popular Front of India (PFI). .The petition moved by his wife, S Arshika, alleged that the perpetrators of the gruesome murder of her husband were still at large. It was contended that the investigation was at a stand-still even though there was proof of the involvement of activists of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the PFI. .Opposing the plea, the State submitted that almost all the accused have been arrested and the final report is ready. It was also argued that if a new agency comes in at this stage, the entire process will have to be repeated causing undue delays..The petitioner was represented by Senior Advocate S Sreekumar. .[Read Judgment]