KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has acquitted six people who were sentenced to life imprisonment by the lower court in the murder case of a man who went for a morning walk in Varkala. The court accused included the DHRM state chairman. The high court's division bench passed the order on an appeal filed by the accused against the lower court order sentencing them to life imprisonment. At the same time, the sentence of the fifth accused Sudhi Narayanan was upheld. The division bench ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove the guilt of the six accused.

The accused had told the police that the murder was carried out to bring the power of the DHRM to the attention of the people. Sivaprasad, a native of Ayirur in Varkala, was hacked to death during a morning walk on September 23, 2009, at around 5.30 am. The accused attacked in three groups.