Norm of the day to silence political opponents by killing them: Kerala High Court enhances fine on 8 CPI(M) convicts

The Kerala High Court recently increased the fines imposed on the eight Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) workers who were convicted by a trial court for brutally attacking then Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader and now Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, C Sadanandan master, in 1994 [Sadanandan v. State of Kerala & Ors.]..The eight convicts had hacked off both of Sadanandan's legs and then thrown a bomb in the vicinity to deter onlookers from helping him. The attack was allegedly prompted because Sadanandan had switched allegiance from CPI(M) to RSS. The trial court, which found the accused guilty, imposed various terms of imprisonment and fines of ₹25,000 each which would be payable as compensation to Sadanandan..The High Court increased these fines, with Justice CS Sudha opining that even though the eight convicts are now well into their 70s, they did not deserve any leniency as their attack was clearly premeditated."... it needs to be noted that not only had [the accused] hacked [Sadanandan] repeatedly leading to both his legs being severed, they also made sure that nobody approached [Sadanandan] to rescue/save him. This makes the offences all the more grave/severe. The attack seems to have been made only because [Sadanandan] switched loyalty and joined a rival party," the Court observed.Since both of Sadanandan's legs had to be amputated when he was only 27 years old, the Court ordered the convicts to pay ₹50,000 each to him as compensation..If this is not intolerance, then what is?Kerala High Court.The Court also emphasised that such attacks motivated by political rivalry and intolerance must be discouraged in the strongest manner possible. "It seems to have become the norm of the day of some to silence political opponents by either killing or maiming them severely for the rest of their life. If this is not intolerance, then what is? This sort of activity by any person, let alone a political party can at no cost be encouraged and such offences will have to be dealt with an iron hand. Political parties have to deal with or finish their political opponents in the electoral battlefield and not engage in bloodshed and remove the opponents from the face of the earth itself," the Court stated in its judgment. .Political parties have to deal with or finish their political opponents in the electoral battlefield and not engage in bloodshed.Kerala High Court.The judgment was passed on revision petitions moved by the eight convicts against the trial court's judgment, which was later confirmed by a Sessions Court.The eight convicts had been sentenced to various periods of imprisonment for each offence that they were found guilty of. Since the sentences were to run concurrently, they would ultimately have to spend seven years behind bars which was the highest sentence imposed by the court for the offence of attempt to murder under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code. Sadanandan's appeal against the trial court's decision to acquit four others accused and the quantum of sentence and fines imposed on the convicts was also tagged with the convicts' appeals. .In an order passed last month on the revision petitions and the related appeal, the High Court concluded that the trial court was right in finding the eight convicts guilty."If the sentence is in any way brought down, that would only send a wrong message to society at large and encourage the commission of such offences in the future also," the Court added..The Court, however, also opined that the sentence of seven years' rigorous imprisonment appeared to be very light for the crime."However, the State, for reasons best known to them, has not filed an appeal under Section 377 Cr.P.C," the Court observed. Since the State had not challenged the sentence and considering the age of the convicts, the Court decided not to to enhance the sentence imposed on the eight convicts and settled for only increasing the fines imposed on them.The Court also refused to consider Sadanandan's appeal against the acquittal of the the other four accused as the proper course of action would be to challenge the trial court decision before the Sessions Court first. .The eight convicts were represented by Senior Advocate P Vijaya Bhanu and advocates Sruthy N Bhat, M Revikrishnan, Mitha Sudhindran, Rahul Sunil, Ajeesh K Sasi, and Pooja Pankaj.Sadanandan was represented by advocates S Rajeev and KK Dheerendrakrishnan..[Read Judgment]