Kochi, Kerala:
As a relief to former Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal, the Kerala High Court today suspended his sentence and 10 years in prison in an attempted murder case.
The court extended the same exemption to the other three convicts, including Mr Faizal’s brother, in the case.
The detailed order of the Supreme Court is not yet available.
Deputy Advocate General of India (DSGI) Manu S, representing the island government, upheld the order of the Supreme Court which emerged from the joint plea of the convicts against their conviction and 10 years imprisonment by a Sessions Court in Lakshadweep.
The Union Territory (UT) of Lakshadweep had opposed the suspension of the convicts’ sentences, saying granting the exemption would “shake people’s confidence in the judicial process”.
It had also said that the crime committed by Mr Faizal and his brother, who was a teacher at a government school, had shocked the society of the island archipelago, where few crimes are reported.
Their release would therefore send the wrong signal to society, the island government had said.
There were 37 suspects in the case. Two of them had died and the trial against them had been stopped.
Of the remaining 35, four individuals – including the disqualified MP and his brother – were sentenced to 10 years in prison, while the rest were acquitted.
According to the prosecution, Mr. Faizal and 36 other suspects along with some other identifiable persons, armed with deadly weapons, rioted and voluntarily caused pain to Mr. Salih after wrongly imprisoning him and his friend Mohammed Kassim at a place on the island of Androt.
Three suspects, including Mr. Faizal, chased Mr. Salih when he tried to run away on the spot, broke into the room of a house where he had taken shelter and brutally assaulted him using dangerous weapons including sword stick, helicopter, iron rod, trusses, sticks etc.
They were attacked when they reached the spot for interfering in a political issue during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured video of the day
Pathaan makes Rs 300 Crore advance bookings