The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed an appeal with the Supreme Court challenging a Kerala High Court ruling that granted bail to 17 members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) connected to the 2022 murder of RSS leader Srinivasan. The NIA is requesting a consolidated hearing for its 17 Special Leave Petitions. This appeal highlights the agency’s concerns over the implications of the bail decision on ongoing investigations.
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) approached the Supreme Court, challenging a Kerala High Court decision that granted bail to 17 Popular Front of India (PFI) members involved in the 2022 murder case of RSS leader Srinivasan.
Representing the NIA, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhatti informed a bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih that the agency filed 17 individual appeals regarding the matter.
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She urged the bench on Friday,
“The Kerala High Court, in its order dated June 25, granted bail to 17 accused while rejecting the bail applications of nine others. We have filed 17 separate Special Leave Petitions. This court may take up all the SLPs together,”
The Supreme Court bench, hearing the plea of Saddam Hussain MK, whose bail request was rejected by the Kerala High Court, directed the registry to seek permission from Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud to consolidate and list all related matters. All the accused granted bail are also facing trial for allegedly inciting communal violence in Kerala and other parts of the country.
The Kerala High Court issued its ruling on bail pleas filed by 26 accused after a special court denied their requests. Seventeen of the accused were granted bail under strict conditions, including the requirement to provide their mobile numbers and real-time GPS locations to the investigating officer. The court also mandated that they surrender their passports, remain in Kerala, and keep their phones active at all times. The 17 accused were instructed to “present themselves before the special court, which shall enlarge them on bail under conditions it deems necessary.”
Initially, 51 individuals were accused in the murder of RSS leader Srinivasan on April 16, 2022, in Palakkad district. One of the accused died, while seven remain at large.
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The investigation, initially handled by local police, was taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after the Centre received intelligence linking the Popular Front of India (PFI) members to a broader conspiracy to incite communal violence and commit terrorist acts. The NIA filed charge sheets in two phases in 2022, followed by a consolidated charge sheet in 2023 and two supplementary charge sheets.
The Centre, in its December 2022 order, referred to Srinivasan’s murder as part of a “larger conspiracy hatched by PFI leaders” with “grave national and international ramifications,” stressing the need for a thorough investigation to uncover additional accused.
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