RSS leader murder: SC rejects NIA plea against bail to 17 PFI members
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to entertain the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) petitions challenging the Kerala High Court’s decision to grant bail to 17 members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in connection with the 2022 murder of RSS leader Sreenivasan in Kerala’s Palakkad district.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and N Kotiswar Singh observed that the High Court's order was issued over a year ago and that the High Court itself had granted liberty to the petitioners to approach the special court for cancellation of bail if any conditions were violated.
“Our attention is invited to the observation made in the last part of the impugned order by which the High Court reserved liberty to the petitioners to apply to the special court for cancellation of bail,” the bench noted. “Therefore, the petitioners can always apply to the special court for cancellation of bail on the grounds set out in the affidavits filed in these petitions. In fact, the special court will be the more appropriate forum.”
The bench further clarified that the NIA could present material evidence before the special court to prove that the accused had breached the bail conditions. “At this stage, we decline to entertain the special leave petitions with liberty to the petitioners to move the special court or High Court for cancellation of bail. Needless to say, if the petitioners’ plea does not succeed before the special court or High Court, other legal remedies remain open.”
The court emphasized that if an application for bail cancellation is filed, the special court or the High Court should decide it independently, uninfluenced by the Supreme Court’s refusal to entertain the present pleas.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Raja Thakare, appearing for the NIA, argued that the accused had violated bail conditions, including contacting witnesses, and sought cancellation of bail.
The Kerala High Court granted bail to 17 of the 26 accused PFI members on June 25, 2024. These individuals were also under trial for allegedly inciting communal violence in the state and other parts of the country. The High Court imposed stringent bail conditions, including sharing real-time GPS locations and cellphone numbers with the investigating officer, surrendering passports, remaining within Kerala, and ensuring their mobile phones remained active and charged round-the-clock. The court directed them to present themselves before the special court, which was to determine further bail conditions.
Initially, 51 individuals were named as accused in the murder of RSS leader Sreenivasan on April 16, 2022. One accused died, and seven others remain absconding. Chargesheets against the remaining were filed in two phases—in July and December 2022.
During the initial probe, the Centre received intelligence indicating that PFI office bearers and cadres in Kerala were conspiring to instigate communal violence and radicalize members to commit acts of terrorism in Kerala and other parts of the country. Consequently, in September 2022, the Centre directed the NIA to take over the investigation.
On December 19, 2022, the Union government asserted that Sreenivasan’s murder was part of a larger conspiracy with serious national and international implications. It instructed the NIA to include the murder case in its ongoing probe. The NIA subsequently filed a consolidated chargesheet in 2023, followed by two supplementary chargesheets.
Following the filing of these chargesheets, the accused approached the court seeking bail, which led to the High Court’s June 2024 order now challenged by the NIA.
With PTI inputs
