Reprobe, acquittal: Kerala Chief Justice to instruct on how to go about pleas in Vandiperiyar case

Kochi: The mother of a six-year-old girl, who was raped and murdered in Vandiperiyar in the Idukki district, has approached the Kerala High Court seeking a reinvestigation, after the accused, Arjun was acquitted by a local court in December. 

The mother's plea pointed out that the acquittal came due to a faulty probe and wanted a "fair, honest, impartial, efficient and independent re-investigation".

The present plea for a reinvestigation comes at a time when an appeal by the Kerala government challenging the acquittal is pending before the division bench of the High Court.  Hence, the High Court maintained that both pleas would be considered together. Judge Ziyad Rahman AA decided to intimate the Chief Justice of Kerala regarding the same so that appropriate procedures can be taken based on the latter's instructions. 

Chief Justice of Kerala’s inputs are crucial to determine whether reprobe can be allowed in a case in which the accused faced trial and was acquitted. Similarly, a parallel probe cannot be called a petition challenging acquittal before the court. Chief Justice of Kerala would instruct on how to go about the pleas.

The incident came to light in June 2021, when the girl was found hanging in her house after her parents, who are plantation workers, returned home after work. 

The Fast Track Special Court for the trial of offences under the POCSO Act acquitted the accused -- Arjun -- saying "the prosecution failed to establish all the circumstances which are consistent with the guilt of the accused and inconsistent with his innocence." The trial court had said that in the instant case, the investigating officer (IO) adopted a "lethargic attitude" throughout the investigation. It had also said that the "unscientific way of collecting evidence without showing the shrewdness and intelligence reasonably expected from an investigating officer, seriously affected the prompt and timely collection of evidence in the case."

According to the Congress and the local BJP leaders, the accused is a member of the youth wing of the CPM and hence got all the support from not just the ruling party but also the police.