K V SAYAN Vs. STATE REP

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners who were originally arrayed as accused Nos.2 and 3 in SC No.2 of 2018 on the file of the Principal Session Judge, Nilgiris, were shown as accused Nos.1 and 2, after the death of the death of the first accused Kanagaraj, in a road accident.

(2.) The petitioners are charged with offences under Sections 120(b), 148, 449, 324, 342, 458, 395 read with 397, 302 and 396 of the Indian Penal Code. The petitioner in Criminal OP No.8488 of 2020 was arrested on 06.06.2017 when he was hospitalised, after having met with an accident on 29.04.2017. The petitioner in Criminal OP No.8495 of 2020 was arrested on 01.05.2017. Since charge sheet was not filed within 90 days, the petitioner in Crl.OP No.8488 of 2020 was released on default bail by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Kotagiri, on 11.09.2017 in Criminal Miscellaneous Petition No.1881 of 2017 under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The petitioner in Criminal OP No.8495 of 2020 was released on regular bail by the learned Session Judge, Nilgiris at Udhagamandalam, on 15.12.2017 in Criminal Miscellaneous Petition No.941 of 2017. As there were several accused in SC No.2 of 2018, the framing of charges itself was delayed. In the meantime, on 11.01.2019 one Mathew Samuel, released a video containing an interview by the petitioners in these Criminal OPs viz., A1 and A2 in SC No.2 of 2018, claiming that the original first accused in the case Kanagaraj (deceased) had told them that the offence is being committed under the instructions of the incumbent Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and the said Kanagaraj also assured them that all arrangements would be made for their safe passage after the commission of the offence.

(3.) I am not reproducing the transcript of the interview, though it has been made available to me, since the interview was on social media for quite some time and the contents of it are very well known to the public at large also. Soon after the publication of the interview in social media, an FIR was registered in Crime No.21 of 2019 on a complaint made by one Rajsathiyan, S/o.Rajan Chellapa. Acting upon the said complaint, both the petitioners were arrested at Delhi and were produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Egmore. It is stated that remand was refused by the learned Magistrate. Thereafter, an application for cancellation of bail was moved before the learned Sessions Judge, Nilgiris at Udhagamandalam, on 08.02.2019 in Criminal Miscellaneous Petition No.53 of 2019. It is also stated that a suit in CS No.82 of 2019 has been filed seeking damages for defamation against the publisher of the interview as well as the petitioners herein and the same is pending on the file of this Court.