Councillor abduction: Kerala HC grants anticipatory bail to 5 Congress workers

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has granted anticipatory bail to five Congress workers accused of hurting and outraging modesty of a woman LDF councillor outside the Koothattukulam municipality office on January 18, the same day when a CPI(M) woman councillor was allegedly abducted from there.

The councillor, Kala Raju, was allegedly assaulted and forcibly pushed into another vehicle and taken away by LDF workers after she arrived at the Koothattukulam municipality to vote in a no-confidence motion moved by the UDF opposition.

However, the five Congress workers have been accused of hurting and outraging the modesty of another LDF councillor and rioting outside the municipality office.

Justice P V Kunhikrishnan, while granting the relief to the five accused, observed that "democracy in our country is leading to conflict, disruptions and vandalism on the streets".

The court, in its January 29 order, said that the proper manner in which a person should be defeated in a democratic set-up is through the ballot papers and not by using weapons or by committing vandalism.

It also quoted former US President Abraham Lincoln who had said that "Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people".

The court further observed that if an elected representative wants to change his policy or political affiliation, he has to resign and face the mandate of the people again.

"That is the moral side of democracy. Otherwise, it will be a unilateral withdrawal from the bond executed with the people by the elected representative. It will be an insult to the will of the people," it said.

At the same time, the court said that an elected representative going against the will of the people "should not be confronted physically by attacking that representative".

"The people can show their power through their ballot papers," it said.

It said that in the instant case, both sides (LDF and UDF) tried to take the law into their own hands instead of approaching the people in a democratic manner.

The court further noted that Raju, who was elected as councillor with LDF support, suddenly changed her political affiliation to another party "forgetting the moral side of the democratic principles".

"In such a situation, there may be some embarrassment to the LDF workers. That may be the reason for these two crimes. Considering the facts and circumstances of this case, I think the petitioners can be released on bail," the court said.

Following the incident, one FIR was registered on Raju's family's complaint against around 50 CPI(M) members and workers for allegedly assaulting and abducting her.

A second FIR was lodged against the five Congress workers, on LDF's complaint, for allegedly assaulting CPI(M) and LDF members and engaging in rioting outside the municipality office.

The court granted anticipatory bail to the five accused on the condition that they shall appear before the Investigating Officer (IO) within two weeks and undergo interrogation.

"After interrogation, if the Investigating Officer proposes to arrest the petitioners, they shall be released on bail on executing a bond for a sum of Rs 50,000 (Rupees Fifty Thousand only) each with two solvent sureties each for the like sum to the satisfaction of the arresting officer concerned," the court said.

It further said that the petitioners have to appear before the IO for interrogation as and when required, cooperate with the probe and shall not directly or indirectly try to influence or intimidate any person acquainted with the case.

The accused were also prohibited from leaving the country without permission of the jurisdictional court.

The CPI(M) had rejected the allegations that its workers had assaulted and abducted Raju.