The Kerala High Court on Wednesday suspended the conviction and sentence of 10 years rigorous imprisonment awarded by the Kavarathi Sessions Court to Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal P P, whose conviction had resulted in his disqualification from the Lok Sabha. The case pertains to an attempt to murder Congress leader Mohammed Salih during the 2009 Lok Sabha election campaign. Faizal, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, was convicted on 11 January and incarcerated in Kannur Central Jail.

Chargesheeted members of Parliament and MLAs, on conviction for offenses, are immediately disqualified from holding House membership. Earlier, they were given another three months to appeal. On 13 January, the Lok Sabha Secretariat disqualified NCP MP Faizal from 11 January, the day of the Kavarathi court verdict.

Incidentally, A K Saseendran, an NCP MLA from Kozhikode, is the Minister for Forests and Wild Life Protection in the second Pinarayi Vijayan ministry. Faizal was released from jail around 9 pm on 26 January. Saseendran came down against Kannur Central Jail officials and alleged that the jail authorities delayed the release of the former Lakshadweep MP. 

Saseendran claimed that officials deliberately delayed Faisal’s release despite receiving a court order. He stated that the former MP could leave the jail only at 9 pm despite receiving the order at 4 pm. The jail officers were trying to please someone, he alleged. Several cronies had reached Kannur from Lakshadweep to receive the convicted MP.

Salih was also the son-in-law of the late former Lakshadweep Lok Sabha member, central minister, and Congress veteran P M Sayeed. Along with Faizal (the second accused), two of his brothers and another person were also jailed in the same case. Sayed Mohammed Noorul Ameen, 43, was the key accused, followed by Faizal, 40, Mohammed Husaain, 54, and Mohammed Basheer Thangal, 52 — all residents of Androth Island. 

Kerala HC Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas noted that there would be ‘severe consequences’ if Faizal’s conviction were not suspended. The nation and, indirectly, the citizens would have to bear the ‘cumbersome process and exorbitant expense of the parliamentary elections.’ The judge averred that several development projects in Lakshadweep would be delayed for a few weeks until fresh elections are held. Since when did HC judges turn cost accountants remains unclear. 

Putting aside the merits of such convoluted judicial reasoning in an attempt to murder case, this inadvertently demonstrates what the BJP government led by Shri Narendra Modi has been maintaining all along. ‘One Nation One Election’ has been the PM’s position for many years. The non-stop election cycle for panchayats, assemblies, parliament, and bye-elections has destroyed our social fabric and taken a heavy toll on the economy & governance.

PM Modi wants a single voter list for all polls and to structure the election cycle so that elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies are synchronized and held within a given timeframe.

One Nation One Election will check poll expenses and save public money. It will reduce the burden on the administration and security forces. The policy will ensure that the administrative machinery is engaged in developmental activities and actual governance rather than non-stop electioneering.

For short-term political gains from a particular election, politicians generally avoid taking relatively unpopular long-term decisions that benefit the country. One Nation One Election will provide more time to all the stakeholders, i.e., political parties, the Election Commission of India (ECI), paramilitary forces, and civilians, to prepare for elections once in five years. 

As per reports, having released the dangerous Faizal on bail, the High Court judge moved into moral science mode. 

The judge claimed his duty was to ‘advance the constitutional objectives, including purity in politics by decriminalizing it,’ yet this could not be the reason for ‘denying the principles of law.’ He did not elaborate on what ‘principle of law’ he was referring to. The court claimed that if fresh elections were held now, the newly elected candidate could continue only for a limited period (till the time the next general elections are held in 2024), and this could ‘not be brushed aside.’

By this logic, no bye-elections should ever be held, say critics of this judgment. But puzzling, vacuous justifications couched in pretentious legalese are often issued by our judiciary when taking dubious positions.

The court also extended the same relief to three other convicts, including Faizal’s brothers. What constitutional protection did these convicted NCP-linked goons possess remains obscure. 

When Faizal’s petition came up for hearing, the prosecution strongly opposed the accused’s request to suspend their sentence and be released on bail. Advocates who appeared for the Lakshadweep Union Territory (UT) reminded the court that granting the convicts relief would shake the people’s faith in the judicial process. They added that the offense committed by Faizal and his brothers (one is a teacher in a government school) had shocked the society of the island archipelago, where few crimes are reported.

The prosecution argued that releasing them would send an incorrect message to the residents. According to the prosecution, the disqualified MP is also the subject of an investigation in a separate CBI case involving significant violations. (Faizal also allegedly faces investigations into anti-national activities, including gold smuggling.)

Counsel for the victim, Salih, contended that there was legal evidence to convict the accused. It was one of a kind on the island, which was peaceful. The objective of the 8(3) of the Representation of the Peoples Act was to keep criminals away from active politics. He said the accused had taken the law into their own hands due to their political clout.

All these arguments fell on deaf ears obviously and did not deter the judge from granting bail to Faizal and co.  

The convicted MP and others argued that the trial court’s decision was contrary to the facts and the available evidence. They said that the evidence was ‘biased’ and lacked supporting data. The weapons allegedly used were not recovered. 

Faizal and his coterie claimed that doctors had informed them that Salih’s injuries were not life-threatening and could not have been brought on by the sharp objects mentioned by the witnesses. The injured and the other two witnesses did not have a consistent case, and their evidence did not inspire confidence as they contradicted each other on material points, they alleged. 

Lakshadweep is a group of tiny specs of land surrounded by the mighty ocean. Searching for a haystack pin is more accessible than finding a few handheld weapons in the deep open sea. Faizal’s argument does not explain why Salih spent months in the hospital if his injuries were not life-threatening. Faizal has alleged underworld connections not just in Lakshadweep but also on the mainland. Reports suggest that intimidating/coercing witnesses and hiding evidence come quickly to him.  

The convicts claimed that the case opposed what was narrated in the First Information Report (FIR). Incidentally, the initial Kavarathi Court judge Anilkumar’s judgment found fault with the investigation officer and the then police inspector of Androth Island, M P Najumudheen. Though he had retired from service, the judge highlighted nine instances of Najumudheen’s inexcusable negligence and ordered departmental action. 

Violent Crimes

In April 2009, Faizal led a violent mob that attacked Salih during the Lok Sabha polls. The prosecution found that Faizal and others chased Salih into the house of a lady named Kadeejummabi when he tried to flee from the spot of escape the vicious onslaught. They broke into the cottage where he had taken shelter and attacked Salih with weapons. The accused also attacked Kadeejummabi and destroyed her house.

While 37 persons were arraigned as accused, all except the four were acquitted. According to the prosecution, the accused unlawfully assembled and assaulted Salih of Congress due to political rivalry. All the accused belonged to the NCP.

Sayeed represented the island for ten terms before passing away in 2005. Salih was seriously injured in the brutal attack and had to be airlifted to a private hospital in Kochi. He underwent treatment for months and has not been seen or heard from publicly since. Sayeed’s son Muhammed Hamdulla Sayeed, a Congress candidate, emerged as the winner in 2009.

Fraud Allegations

In July 2022, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR against Faizal, his nephew Abdul Razik Thangal, Colombo-based company SRT General Merchants Importers and Exporters (that Thangal represented), and M P Anwar, the then Managing Director of government-owned Lakshadweep Cooperative Marketing Federation (LCMF). 

A joint surprise check in the last week of June showed that during 2016-17, Faizal allegedly gave false assurance to LCMF that a foreign buyer, SRT was willing to import dried tuna fish at a higher price than the prevailing rate. Anwar, without following norms and floating any tender and merely relying on the assurance of Faizal, proceeded to procure 287 MT of fish from local fishermen. The expected payments never materialized, and the trio allegedly cheated poor local fisherfolk to the tune of Rs 9 crore in the name of tuna fish exports. Faizal claimed political vendetta.

Gold Smuggling Allegations

On 14 January, the de-facto Congress mouthpiece, The Malayala Manorama, reported that Faizal has been under the scrutiny of the central intelligence agencies Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) for quite a while. He visited the Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary’s Forest Department Inspection Bungalow (IB) in the Kannur district several times covertly. The Lakshadweep MP arrived here 23 times during the 2019-22 period, but allegedly there is no official record. 

Here, Faizal reportedly held closed-door meetings with certain film producers and jewelry owners from Thayyil, Kannur. Thayyil is a known center of the gold smuggling mafia. Marunadan Malayalee reported that a lady Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) accompanied and helped Faizal. Both media houses refused to name the alleged accomplice. These allegations point to Faizal’s hand in the gold smuggling racket. 

Justice For the Accused

In March 2020, while the world was grappling with Covid-19, Justice Thomas was appointed as an additional judge of the Kerala High Court and became a permanent judge in late May 2021. He is the son of former Supreme Court judge Kallupurackal Thomas Thomas, the 2007 recipient of Padma Bhushan. Justice Thomas has a daughter Adv Suzanne Kurian. 

In June 2022, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan disagreed with certain observations made by Justice Thomas while granting anticipatory bail to controversial film actor Vijay Babu. Justice Kunhikrishnan observed that the actor-producer, facing allegations of rape, should not have been granted anticipatory bail since the application was filed while Babu was abroad. 

As per Justice Kunhikrishnan, “a person who is not in Bharat or who does not intend to visit Bharat soon cannot conveniently remain abroad and move an application for anticipatory bail before a court in Bharat.” This observation came while hearing a petitioner, who was booked under various sections of the POCSO Act, had sought bail. The court noted that when the case came up for hearing, the accused was absent in Bharat and denied anticipatory bail.

Someone informed Justice Kunhikrishnan of another judgment (in the Vijay Babu case) delivered on the same day. Babu had fled to Dubai after he was booked in the rape case, and Justice Thomas said that the law on anticipatory bail does not restrict a person residing outside the country from applying for pre-arrest bail. Justice Thomas granted Babu bail. 

So basically, isn’t this how such judgments allow criminals like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi to evade Bharatiya laws? After all, the BJP government in Delhi is there to blame.  

Justice Kunhikrishnan said he disagreed with Justice Thomas’s observation and added that higher courts in Bharat have a discretionary right to consider whether a pre-arrest bail should be granted. Justice Kunhikrishnan said that if an accused in a case has left Bharat knowing that a subject with grievous offenses has been registered against him and files a bail application before the High Court after leaving Bharat, that person is not entitled to protection from arrest. 

Justice Kunhikrishnan pointed out that the dictum laid down in Babu’s case requires reconsideration. He said Justice Thomas should not have decided the matter without sending it to a two-judge bench. 

In July 2022, Justice Thomas granted bail to the accused in the infamous Alappuzha sloganeering case. Popular Front of India (PFI) terrorists used 10-year-old boys to raise slogans calling for Hindu and Christian genocide in Kerala. Slogans calling for Azadi, special Islamist prayers in Ayodhya and Gyan Vapi, the death of non-Muslims, the genocide of ‘Sanghis,’ and rants of Insha Allah were also heard. 

The prosecution had opposed the bail pleas saying that the accused attempted to disrupt communal harmony in the state and releasing them would prejudice the investigation. Justice Thomas felt that while the allegations against the accused were serious in nature, they all had been in jail for more than 30 days, and the investigation was complete. He granted bail to 31 out of the 33 accused, even though two key co-accused were still at large.