HC grants bail to lawyer in murder case

The Kerala High Court today granted bail to a prominent criminal lawyer C P Udayabhanu who was remanded in judicial custody after his arrest in a murder case of a real estate dealer in Thrissur district.
Earlier, the high court had granted interim bail to Udayabhanu to attend the funeral of his relative.
Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan also granted bail to two other accused in the case-Chakkara Johnny and Ranjith.
Granting the bail, the court directed them to surrender their passports, not to enter Thrissur district and appear before the investigating officer on Mondays and Saturdays.
The court also directed them not to influence the witnesses in the case.

Udayabhanu, who was arrested on November 1, is the seventh accused in the killing of real estate dealer V A Rajeev at Chalakudy.

In his bail plea, the lawyer had submitted that he was made an accused on the basis of false allegations.
He submitted that charges levelled against him were not sufficient to constitute the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
Rajeev was found dead in a deserted building at Chalakudy in Thrissur district in October.
The prosecution had claimed that Udayabhanu had links with the 46-year-old real estate dealer and the persons arrested in connection with his killing.