Kerala HC directs case diary submission in ADM death case

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the investigation officer probing the death of Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu, to submit the case diary and a detailed affidavit explaining the progress of the inquiry by December 6.

The court issued the direction on a plea filed by the widow of Babu, seeking to transfer the probe into her husband's alleged suicide to the CBI.

While considering the plea, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas also issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

When the matter was taken up, the petitioner informed the court that the investigation was not proceeding in the right direction.

She alleged that the accused, former president of the Kannur District Panchayat, P P Divya, possessed significant political influence, raising concerns that the investigation might be sabotaged.

The court questioned the petitioner on the basis of her claim that the death was a case of murder.

It also sought clarification on whether there were additional grounds, apart from the accused's alleged political connections, to substantiate the claim of interference in the investigation.

The petitioner submitted that they were unaware of the events leading up to his death in the hours before the incident.

However, the court rejected her plea to restrain the investigation team from submitting the final report until the petition was resolved.

The court will consider the matter again on December 6.

In her plea, filed on Tuesday, Babu's widow claimed that "no meaningful progress has been made by the current investigating agency".

She also claimed that the possibility of a homicidal hanging cannot be ruled out.

Her petition further claims that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the case "has shown no positive efforts in gathering evidence on these crucial aspects".

It further contended that there are circumstances that raise serious questions about the cause of Babu's death.

Babu had allegedly died by suicide following the corruption allegations made against him by former Kannur District Panchayat President Divya at his farewell function.

Attending his send-off function allegedly uninvited on October 14, the CPI(M) leader had criticised Babu for delaying the approval of a petrol pump in Chengalai for several months and remarked that he granted approval only two days after being transferred, hinting that she knew the reasons behind the sudden nod.

The following day, Babu was found dead at his quarters in Kannur.

Divya was, subsequently, removed from her post, booked for abetment of suicide, arrested and remanded to judicial custody on October 29 after her plea for anticipatory bail was rejected by a sessions court.

On November 8, she was granted regular bail by the sessions court.