Anti-constitution remark: Kerala Minister Saji Cheriyan announces resignation from his cabinet posts
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 6: Kerala Minister Saji Cheriyan on Wednesday announced his resignation amidst mounting criticism from various quarters, including the Opposition, over his controversial remarks against the Constitution recently.
Apparently succumbing to pressure, Cheriyan -- a senior CPI(M) leader who holds Cultural Affairs, Fisheries and Youth Affairs portfolios in the cabinet -- met media persons at the Chief Minister's Office and announced that he has handed over his resignation to CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
He is the first minister to resign from the second LDF government headed by Vijayan.
Amid Opposition calls for his sacking, Cheriyan said it was his independent decision to quit as minister.
He insisted that it was never his intention to disrespect the Constitution for which he has the highest regard and respect.
Cheriyan further said, in his press conference, that his recent speech was incorrectly interpreted or partially depicted or carried by the news media which resulted in conveying a wrong message that he disrespected the Constitution.
"I was hurt by such a portrayal of what I had said. I also believe it was aimed at destabilising the ruling Left government," he said.
He also alleged that it was the Congress and the BJP which have failed many times to uphold the majesty of the Constitution.
Reacting to his resignation, senior Congress MLA and former state minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said, "it was his speech that led to his resignation. However, while addressing the media announcing his resignation, he did not express regret for his words. Cheriyan needs to make it clear whether he stands by his speech against the Constitution."
KPCC chief K Sudhakaran too said that he heard no regret in Cheriyan's voice.
"However, it is good that he exited without much protest. Our Constitution is special as this is the only one which calls for a unity in diversity. If this Constitution is weakened, then our country will be lost.
"The fascists forces want to weaken our Constitution. If they come to power, this country will be defeated. We will not allow anyone to weaken our Constitution," he added.
Earlier in the day, after attending a meeting of the available state secretariat at AKG Centre, Cheriyan responded to questions on whether he would be resigning with a query of his own -- "why?"
".. What is the problem? I already said what I had to say yesterday," he said in response to repeated queries by reporters outside the party headquarters on whether he would resign or if his resignation had been sought.
At the same time, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury told reporters in New Delhi that the matter was being discussed by the state leadership and "appropriate action" would be taken.
In the morning, the state assembly proceedings were disrupted by the opposition's agitations demanding Cheriyan's resignation leading to the House being adjourned for the day.
After staging a brief sit-in protest at the portal of the hall with placards, the UDF members later gathered in front of the statue of B R Ambedkar at the Assembly campus and raised slogans accusing Cheriyan of 'insulting' the architect of the Constitution through his harsh remarks.
Besides that there were protests in various parts of the state demanding his resignation.
A two-time MLA and first time minister, Cheriyan had been representing Chengannur constituency in the state Assembly since 2018.
The 57-year-old leader was considered as a strongman of the ruling party in Alappuzha district and a confidante of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
Beginning his political career as a student leader of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India DYFI, Cheriyan also held various party posts during his decade-long political life.
Though he had contested for the first time in the 2006 Assembly election, he lost to Congress's P C Vishnunath.
He was elected to the House as legislator in the by-election in 2018 from Chengannur constituency by a record margin.
During the 2021 Assembly election, he won by a margin of over 30,000 votes beating his nearest rival.
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Actress sexual assault: Court says Prosecution 'miserably' failed to prove conspiracy against Dileep
Kochi (PTI): The prosecution had "miserably" failed to prove the conspiracy charge against Dileep in the sensational 2017 actress sexual assault case, a local court has observed while citing inconsistencies and lack of sufficient evidence against the Malayalam star.
The full judgement of Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court Judge Honey M Varghese was released late on Friday, and has revealed the judge also pointing out at unsustainable arguments put forth by the prosecution.
"The prosecution miserably failed to prove the conspiracy between accused No.1 (Pulsar Suni) and accused No.8 (Dileep) in executing the offence against the victim," the court held.
It examined in detail, the prosecution's allegation that Dileep had hired the prime accused to sexually assault the survivor and record visuals, including close-up footage of a gold ring she was wearing, to establish her identity.
On page 1130 of the judgment, under paragraph 703, the court framed the issue as whether the prosecution's contention that NS Sunil (Pulsar Suni) recorded visuals of the gold ring worn by the victim at the time of the occurrence, so as to clearly disclose her identity, was sustainable.
The prosecution contended Dileep and Suni had planned the recording so that the actress' identity would be unmistakable, with the video of the gold ring intended to convince Dileep that the visuals were genuine.
However, the court noted that this contention was not stated in the first charge sheet and was introduced only in the second one.
As part of this claim, a gold ring was seized after the victim produced it before the police.
The court observed that multiple statements of the victim were recorded from February 18, 2017, following the incident, and that she first raised allegations against Dileep only on June 3, 2017.
Even on that day, nothing was mentioned about filming of the ring as claimed by the prosecution, the court said.
The prosecution failed to explain why the victim did not disclose this fact at the earliest available opportunities.
It further noted that although the victim had viewed the sexual assault visuals twice, she did not mention any specific recording of the gold ring on those occasions, which remained unexplained.
The court also examined the approvers' statements.
One approver told the magistrate that Dileep had instructed Pulsar Suni to record the victim's wedding ring.
The court observed that no such wedding ring was available with her at that time.
During the trial, the approver changed his version, the court said.
The Special Public Prosecutor put a leading question to the approver on whether Dileep had instructed the recording of the ring, after which he deposed that the instruction was to record it to prove the victim's identity.
The court observed that the approver changed his account to corroborate the victim's evidence.
When the same question was put to another approver, he repeated the claim during the trial but admitted he had never stated this fact before the investigating officer.
The court noted that the second approver even went to the extent of claiming Dileep had instructed the execution of the crime as the victim's engagement was over.
This showed that the evidence of the second approver regarding the shooting of the ring was untrue, as her engagement had taken place after the crime.
The court further observed that the visuals themselves clearly revealed the victim's identity and that there was no need to capture images of the ring to establish identity.
In paragraph 887, the court examined the alleged motive behind the crime and noted that in the first charge sheet, the prosecution had claimed that accused persons 1 to 6 had kidnapped the victim with the common intention of capturing nude visuals to extort money by threatening to circulate them and there was no mention about Dileep's role in it.
The court also rejected the prosecution's claim that the accused had been planning the assault on Dileep's instructions since 2013, noting that the allegation was not supported by reliable evidence.
It similarly ruled out the claim that Suni attempted to sexually assault the victim in Goa in January 2017, stating that witness statements showed no such misconduct when he served as the driver of the vehicle used by the actress there.
The court also discussed various controversies that followed Dileep's arrest and the evidence relied upon by the prosecution, ultimately finding that the case had not been proved.
Pronouning its verdict on the sensational case on December 8, the court acquitted Dileep and three others.
Later, the court sentenced six accused, including the prime accused Suni, to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment.
The assault on the multilingual actress, after the accused allegedly forced their way into her car and held it under their control for two hours on February 17, 2017, had shocked Kerala.
Pulsar Suni sexually assaulted the actress and video recorded the act with the help of the other convicted persons in the moving car.
