Kochi: The High Court Thursday rejected an appeal against a single bench order directing a CBI probe into a case related to the 2012 murder of an Indian Union Muslim League activist in Kannur district, in which CPI(M) leader P Jayarajan and party MLA T V Rajesh are among the accused.
Rejecting the appeal filed by Jayarajan and Rajesh, a division bench asked CBI to continue all further proceedings in the Ariyil Shukoor murder case.
In its order, the single bench had directed Kerala Police to hand over the investigation to CBI.
Following this, CBI had registered an FIR.
Challenging the single bench order, the petitioners had argued that the case does not satisfy criteria adopted by the Supreme Court Constitution bench to hand over an investigation to CBI.
They had submitted that local police investigated and filed a charge sheet incorporating offences including Section 302 (punishment for murder)of IPC in the murder case.
They had also contended that the order of the single bench was against the spirit of the Supreme Court judgement.
The single bench had passed the order in February last year on a petition by Aathikka, mother of 22-year old Shukoor who was killed in Thaliparamba on February 20, 2012.
Jayarajan and Rajesh have been charged with not trying to prevent the killing of Shukoor despite getting information about the conspiracy.
According to the police charge sheet, Shukoor was murdered because he was involved in an attack on Jayarajan and Rajesh while they were travelling in a vehicle.