On May 5th, the Kerala High Court observed that the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) are extremist organisations, which have not yet been banned in India.
The court made the remarks while hearing the petition of the wife of deceased RSS worker A Sanjith, seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). “No doubt, SDPI and PFI are extremist organisations indulging in serious acts of violence. All the same, those are not banned organisations,” Justice K Haripal had stated.
The Kerala High Court further noted that both SDPI and PFI have a history of attacking members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. It added, “It is the common case that activists of the SDPI/PFI were behind the attack.”
“There were clashes between the activists of the SDPI/PFI on the one hand and activists of the RSS on the other. There are series of attacks and counter-attacks between them,” Justice K Haripal emphasised.
The Kerala High Court pointed out that clashes between RSS and the two Islamist outfits had continued even after the brutal murder of A Sanjith. It continued, “This Court takes judicial notice of the fact that even after this incident, after completing arguments in this case, two such incidents have happened in Palakkad.”
However, the Court dismissed the petition of A Sanjith’s wife on the grounds that a CBI probe would lead to a delay in proceedings and increase the chances of accused PFI workers getting bail. “If investigation is handed over to the CBI, that would result in further delay in the proceedings. It is not in public interest. That may also pave way for raising demand by the accused persons for releasing on bail. Given the mind set of the rival groups, if the accused persons are released on bail that would entail further clashes and may lead to law and order situation,” the court said in its order.
Another reason the court gave that the investigating agency does not appear to have a special interest in the case or interested in shielding the culprits. “Partisan attitude could not be inferred,” the court said, adding that all the culprits had been identified and many of them have been arrested by the police. “Merely for the reason that some of the culprits remain at large, CBI cannot be asked to conduct an investigation,” the court further added.
The murder of RSS worker A Sanjith
On November 15, 2021, a 26-year-old Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker Sanjith was hacked to death in front of his wife in Ellapully, Palakkad. In broad daylight, the assailants who came in a car waylaid Sanjith’s bike and attacked him in front of many people including his wife.
As per reports, many of the accused in the case was linked to the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the extremist Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI).
On January 24 this year, Mohammad Haroon, the key conspirator behind the case was arrested by Kerala Police. Haroon was actively involved in planning the murder along with other associates from the SDPI.
A few days after the involvement of the political outfit was clear, Sanjith’s family had demanded an NIA probe in the matter. Sarath, Sanjith’s brother had alleged that the ongoing investigation was not being done in a proper way. According to him, Sanjith had faced similar attacks in his lifetime, in one of which he had a hand injury.
