Walayar Case: Parents of victims move Kerala High Court after CBI adds them as accused

The Kerala High Court on Monday sought the response of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to a petition filed by the parents of two Dalit girls who were allegedly raped and murdered in Walayar in 2017 [XXX v. The Central Bureau of Investigation]..The parents moved the Court seeking quashing of the CBI’s chargesheet which names them as accused. According to their plea, the central agency conducted a "planned investigation" to shield the real perpetrators.Justice C Jayachandran on Monday directed the CBI to respond to the petition. .The Walayar case refers to the deaths of two Dalit sisters, aged 9 and 13, who were found hanging at their home in 2017 within months of each other.Autopsy reports confirmed sexual assault with the younger girl's report indicating possible homicidal hanging.After a trial court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) acquitted all the accused in 2019 due to lack of evidence, the High Court ordered a retrial and transferred the case to the CBI, which filed its chargesheet in January 2025.The CBI's chargesheet named the parents as accused, alleging that they had abetted the sexual assault on their daughters by failing to protect them from the accused. The chargesheet also accused the parents of destroying evidence by burning their daughters' clothes and school bags.The CBI charged them under various provisions of the POCSO Act, Juvenile Justice Act and the Indian Penal Code which deal with abetment of rape and unnatural offences, cruelty to children and destruction of evidence..The parents then approached the High Court alleging that the CBI's investigation was biased and conducted with 'extraneous considerations' to shield the actual perpetrators.According to their plea, the CBI ignored scientific evidence suggesting homicide and wrongly concluded that the girls died by suicide.As per the plea,"It is submitted that there are sufficient materials to suspect that the instant case is a homicide. But the investigating agency, camouflaging all materials, including scientific conclusions, conducted a "planned investigation" to save somebody from the clutches of law, and instead of conducting a fair, impartial and independent investigation, the investigating agency, with extraneous consideration, without booking the real culprits, brought unnecessary and baseless charges against the petitioners, who are the poor and helpless parents of the children."The parents, who belong to a marginalized Scheduled Caste community, emphasised their socio-economic struggles in their plea pointing to a previous High Court judgment where the division bench had noted that the family’s backward status influenced their actions. The parents highlighted this observation, which was made in reference to why the mother did not immediately report the abuse against her daughter.They stated that their actions were misinterpreted and that the CBI's charges are based on mere speculation rather than solid evidence.The parents have demanded a fresh investigation into the possibility of murder, including the examination of a disputed 'death note' allegedly written by an accused, which the CBI failed to send for forensic analysis despite the Court's permission. They have also sought quashing of the chargesheet pending before the CBI Court, Ernakulam..The parents were represented by advocate PV Jeevesh.Senior Advocate KP Sathhesan appeared for CBI.