Kerala HC allows conditional suspension of jail sentence of 4 convicts in 2003 Muthanga land agitation cases

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala High Court on Friday allowed the conditional suspension of the five-yearjail sentence imposed on four convicts in the case of attempt to murder of police constable Abdul Salam and forest range officer PK Sasidharan in connection with the 2003 Muthanga land struggle in Wayanad.

The four accused -- M Geethanandan (72), Binu (54), Ramesan (53) and Anilkumar (48) -- were found guilty by the Kalpetta Sessions Court on July 31 in the case and imposed five years rigorous imprisonment and fines of ₹10,000 each for a range of offences including attempt to murder, wrongful restraint, wrongful assembly and rioting.

The HC bench of Justice A Badharudeen, hearing petitions filed by the accused challenging their conviction by the sessions court, held that they have an ‘arguable case.’

The appellants’ counsel had pointed out that the sessions judge did not conclusively find commission of the offences and only prima facie found the offences. The standing counsel for the CBI, which investigated the cases with regard to the Muthanga land agitation, also submitted that they are filing an appeal to ‘address the flaws in the judgement.’

“Going through the judgement and the period of sentence imposed, at par with the arguments advanced pointing out the innocence of the applicants, the appellants have an arguable case. Since it is submitted by the learning public prosecutor that the appellants have criminal antecedents, there is no reason to disallow the application and therefore, the petition to suspend the sentence is allowed on the following conditions,” the High Court ruled.

The court directed the apellants to deposit the entire fine amount imposed by the sessions court, execute bail bond of ₹1 lakh each with two solvent sureties and not get involved in any other crimes. The accused must not be released on bail until the fine amounts are realised, the court ordered.

The cases pertain to the historic agitation for land spearheaded by the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha under the leadership of Geethanandan and CK Janu inside the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary in Muthanga in January 2003 in protest against then UDF government’s inaction on allotting land parcels to tribals.

Clashes broke out on the morning of February 19, 2003 when personnel from the police and forest departments began an operation to evict the protesters from the wildlife sanctuary in Muthanga. Pellets and tear gas shells were fired by the police in a bid to clear the area. The tensions escalated when constable Salam and forest officer Sasidharan were detained by the tribals, resulting in police firing. One tribal, Jogi, was killed in the firing, while police constable Vinod succumbed to fatal injuries sustained during the clashes.

While official records point to only two fatalities, unofficial estimates by human rights groups and tribal outfits stated over a dozen deaths. The alleged indiscriminate firing by the police on the tribals, allegedly without any provocation, were widely condemned by rights groups and remains a dark chapter in the history of Adivasi land rights in Kerala. Late Justice VR Krishna Iyer, in a preliminary report, termed the police action as ‘excessive’.

The incident led to policy changes in the allotment of land to tribals in the state and propelled successive governments to address landlessness among tribals.