Governor-SFI incident: Court grants bail to five SFI leaders

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The court granted bail to five SFI workers who obstructed the Governor’s convoy to wave black flags in protest on Monday. The incident happened in Thiruvananthapuram’s Pettah as the Governor got out of the vehicle and confronted the SFI protesters in one dramatic scene.

At the same time, preventing the Governor, the Head of State is an assault under IPC-124 and can invite a seven-year imprisonment term. Legal experts say that it is a punishable offence. The prosecution also claimed that the Governor's vehicle endured damage of Rs 76, 000 in the SFI-led melee.

These IPC sections are normally charged against people who obstruct the passage of the President or Governor in India. Back when Governor Arif Mohamed Khan was confronted at the Kannur Varsity function, the governor asked the police to register a case under this same section.

However, the police are hesitating now to charge section 124 of IPC saying that the protesters never had any plan to physically attack the Governor.

At 7 pm on Monday, while the governor was on his way to the airport, a roster of SFI workers staged a protest but was caught unaware when the Governor himself got out from the vehicle to confront them. The people nearby and onlookers in Pettah Kerala Kaumudi square were perplexed seeing the Governor walking past them towards the SFI workers. The five SFI workers were immediately arrested and shifted to Pettah police station.