Kathmandu— On Monday, the Kerala High Court granted bail to nine Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) workers who were accused of attacking Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials during a search operation at former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's residence. The court noted that while the allegations are serious and cannot be justified, continued detention was unnecessary given the progress of the investigation and the lack of prior criminal records among the accused.

Court Ruling on Bail

Justice Kauser Edappagath observed during the bail hearing that despite the seriousness of the allegations against the nine CPI(M) workers, continued detention was unnecessary. The judge highlighted a delay in police proceedings, noting that even after 67 days, no weapon used in the attack had been recovered by the police.

The court acknowledged the gravity of the incident but also pointed out that the investigation is almost complete and none of the accused have any criminal antecedents.

Central Agency's Opposition

The Enforcement Directorate strongly opposed the bail pleas, arguing that the attack was a pre-planned conspiracy to intimidate officers and disrupt an ongoing probe. The central agency stated that the attack was not a result of sudden provocation but rather a planned act aimed at deterring officials from performing their duties.

The ED emphasized that the incident on May 27 involved a mob surrounding the convoy of ED officials as they were leaving after an eight-hour search operation, resulting in damage to vehicles and injuries to officers alongside accompanying security personnel.

Defense Counsel's Arguments

In response, the defense counsel argued that the arrests failed to follow proper procedures. They contended that Section 109 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for attempt to murder was improperly applied based merely on media footage without adequate physical evidence.

The petitioners, including Kiran PS, Jeevan, Anil Kumar, Sreejith, Nishad, Sidharth S, Shefeek, Nandhu GR, and Rahul A Rajan, had moved the High Court after their bail applications were previously turned down twice by the Thiruvananthapuram District and Sessions Court.

(With inputs from ANI)

Originally published on abcnews.com.np.