A court in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday found CPI (M) leaders A.A. Rahim, MP, and M. Swaraj guilty in a case relating to a violent protest taken out by activists of the party’s feeder organisations against the education policies of the Oommen Chandy government in 2014.
The Thiruvananthapuram Judicial First Class Magistrate Court 4 sentenced the duo to imprisonment for a year and also imposed a fine of ₹5,000. Having obtained bail later in the day, the CPI (M) leaders said they would approach the High Court against the judgment.
Mr. Rahim and Mr. Swaraj, who were then Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) leaders, participated in a demonstration taken out to the official residence of the then Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb on July 30, 2014. Several police personnel and protesters were injured in the protest.
While 10 persons had been named accused in the case, Mr. Swaraj and Mr. Rahim, the sixth and seventh accused respectively, had moved the Kerala High Court seeking an early disposal of the trial early this year.
Magistrate Swetha Sasikumar pronounced the judgment after finding them guilty of offence under Section 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),
Both of the accused were also imposed fines of ₹1,000 each under Sections 143 (unlawful assembly) and 147 (rioting) of IPC; ₹200 under Section 283 (destruction or obstruction in public way) of IPC; and ₹500 under Kerala Police Act.
While the Museum police had also booked them under Section 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) of IPC and provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, the prosecution could not prove their involvement in such offences.
