Periya murder case: LDF Govt spends more than one crore, SC lawyer was paid Rs 60 lakh to appear in HC

KANNUR: The government spent more than Rs one crore for legally fighting against the verdict of handing over the Periya double murder case to the CBI. The investigation in the murder case of two youth congress activists Sarath Lal and Kripesh was handed over to the CBI by a single bench of the high court. The legal battle against this extended to the Supreme Court.

The three lawyers who appeared for the government at various stages were paid Rs 88 lakh. Rs 2.92 lakh was also spent on accommodation, food and air travel. Apart from the standing counsel, another senior lawyer also appeared in the Supreme Court. This lawyer had received Rs 60 lakh as fee for appearing in the high court.

The double murder that shook the state happened on February 17 in 2019 at around 7:30 pm. Sarath Lal (23) and Kripesh (19), who were on the bike, were stopped and hacked to death on the Kalliot Koorankara road. The parents of Sharat Lal and Kripesh approached the high court seeking a CBI investigation into the case, which was initially investigated by a special team of the local police and later by the Crime Branch.

The high court single bench handed over the investigation to the CBI in September 2019. The state government then filed an appeal in the division bench against the CBI investigation. After the appeal was dismissed, the state government approached the Supreme Court opposing the CBI investigation. The parents of the murdered youths also filed a stay plea. The Supreme Court dismissed the state government's appeal on December 1, 2019. The CBI took over the investigation. The CBI investigation team filed a chargesheet in the court on December 3, 2021.