KOCHI: The CBI will probe the sensational Periya double murder case. A bench led by High Court chief justice pronounced this important judgement after rejecting government’s appeal against the CBI probe.

However, the court did not cancel crime branch’s charge sheet in the case. The CBI can make additions in the charge sheet if they wants. The court said the trial in the case should begin only after CBI’s further probe.

The verdict was pronounced after nine months and nine days of completing the argument. Due to the delay in the judgement, relatives of the slain Kripesh and Sarath Lal had approached the court seeking transfer of the case to another bench. The CBI had also informed the court that the probe had been stopped as the high court had not pronounced its verdict on government's appeal.

The case was first handed over to the CBI on September 30 in 2019. The court had sharply criticized the investigating team and then quashed the charge sheet. The government approached the division bench seeking cancellation of this order. The state government had even brought in Supreme Court lawyers for a huge amount to argue its appeal in the case. The relatives of Kripesh and Sarat Lal and opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala hailed the decision of leaving the case to the CBI.

Youth congress workers Kripesh and Sarath Lal were murdered at Periya in Kasargod on February 17. The charge sheet of the crime branch asserted that the enmity of the first accused Peethambaran, former branch secretary and local committee member, towards Sarath Lal is the reason for the murder. It has also mentioned that the murder was conspired by Peethambaran. Apart from Peethambaran, Saji C George, K M Suresh, Anil Kumar, Gigin, Sreerag, Ashwin, Subeesh, Murali Thanithod, Renjith, Pradeep, Alakod Mani, CPM Periya local secretary N Balakrishnan, Uduma area secretary K Manikandan are the other accused in the case.