The Supreme Court on Monday, 6 January, upheld the life sentences of five CPM members for the 2002 murders of two RSS Swayamsevaks in Thalassery, Kannur district, Kerala.
The Court’s verdict stated:
“Crime creates a sense of societal fear and adversely affects the societal conscience. It is inequitable and unjust if such a situation is allowed to perpetuate and continue in society. In every civilised society, the purpose of the criminal justice system is to protect individual dignity, restore societal stability and order, and foster faith and cohesion in the community.”
The Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and P.B. Varale presided over the case.
The Case
The murders of RSS Swayamsevaks C.K. Sujeesh and P. Sunil occurred on 2 March 2002. Both men, who had previously left the CPM to join the RSS, were hacked to death by a mob of CPM supporters. According to the prosecution, the victims were hiding with nine others from a violent mob when they were attacked and killed.
In 2011, the Kerala High Court upheld the conviction of five individuals, acquitted eight others, and noted that one accused had died during the appeal process. The five convicted men—E. Dineshan, P. Sivadasan, E. Ashokan, Vellora Pradeepan, and Badiyil Rineef—then challenged the High Court’s decision in the Supreme Court, arguing that contradictions in witness testimonies cast doubt on their involvement.
Supreme Court Verdict
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the minor inconsistencies in the witness testimonies did not affect the credibility of the prosecution’s case. The Bench observed:
“Only because there are some contradictions, which, in the opinion of this Court, are not even that material, the entire story of the prosecution cannot be discarded as false.”
The Court noted that the testimonies of the eyewitnesses were “honest, truthful and trustworthy” and found the High Court’s reliance on these accounts “well-reasoned.” It also addressed the chaotic circumstances under which Sujeesh and Sunil were attempting to escape the mob, explaining why their bodies were discovered some distance apart.
The Bench further clarified the principle of falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus (false in one thing, false in everything), stating that it does not apply to Indian criminal jurisprudence. The Court emphasised:
“If the court inspires confidence from the rest of the testimony of such a witness, it can very well rely on such a part of the testimony and base a conviction upon it.”
Upholding the Kerala High Court’s judgment, the Supreme Court affirmed the life sentences of the five accused and dismissed the appeal. The verdict is seen as a significant blow to the culture of political violence perpetuated by the CPM in Kerala.
Horrifying Intolerant murder politics of Communists, they proudly call it the 'Kannur Model'! pic.twitter.com/hsk613R4nj" @TimesNow @gkmadathil
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) April 30, 2016
#Kerala Red Carnage
The killing fields of #Kannur are expanding throughout Kerala. The inhuman extermination of the political opponents by the CPM-led State Government accentuates the Fascist designs of the Communistshttps://t.co/HzgVvq9kPX
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) April 24, 2018
Kannur is widely recognised as a Communist stronghold, where killing political opponents through violence and evading justice under their rule has become a recurring pattern.
