Kerala HC grants bail to 10 PFI members accused in RSS leader murder case

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted bail to 10 accused PFI members in the 2022 murder case of RSS leader Srinivasan in Palakkad district.

A bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and P V Balakrishnan granted the relief to Shefeek, Jafar B, Nassar, Jamsheer H, Abdul Basith, Muhammed Shefeek K, Ashraf K, Jishad B, Ashraf Moulavi and Sirajudheen.

The 10 had moved the High Court against an NIA special court's decision denying them bail in the case.

The detailed order is not yet available.

The High Court had last year granted bail to 17 other accused PFI members in the case.

Initially, 51 people were arraigned as accused in connection with the murder of Srinivasan on April 16, 2022. One among those arrested died and seven of the accused persons could not be arrested because they are absconding.

Chargesheets against the remaining were filed in two phases in July and December 2022.

The Centre in December 2022 had directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take up and investigate the murder case against the accused.

S K Srinivasan, a former district leader and office-bearer of RSS, was attacked by a six-member gang at his motorbike shop in Melamuri in Palakkad on April 16, 2022, less than 24 hours after a PFI leader -- Subair -- was allegedly killed by BJP workers in a village near there.