The family members of Madhu, a tribal youth from Attappady in Palakkad who was lynched by a mob in 2018, have sought disciplinary proceedings against a designated senior lawyer in the Kerala High Court in connection with the appointment of a special public prosecutor against their interests in the murder case.
They allege that they had been kept in the dark about the appointment of another lawyer as a special public prosecutor in the case.
The development comes amidst allegations against the senior lawyer by family members of Naveen Babu, former Kannur Additional District Magistrate, who was found dead at his official quarters on October 15. While reiterating their demand for a CBI probe, they alleged that the lawyer had sought a Crime Branch probe in the case.
Terming Madhu’s death a planned murder, his mother Malli has submitted petitions to the Chief Justice of India, Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, and the chairmen of the Bar Council of India and the Bar Council of Kerala, seeking disciplinary proceedings against the senior lawyer.
The petitions refer to removal of multiple prosecutors “due to their irresponsible acts in conducting the case”. The fourth prosecutor conducted the prosecution and resulted in the conviction of most of the accused.
“The appeals of the accused are pending before the High Court and, hence, I requested the State government to appoint a special public prosecutor and two additional special public prosecutors in the court, and suggested two names. Faced with delay, I engaged S. Sreekumar, a designated senior lawyer in the High Court,” she says in her petition.
She says that during consultation with him, she had sought the appointment of P.V. Jeevesh and Rajesh M. Menon as special public prosecutor and assistant public prosecutor respectively, since trustworthiness was of paramount importance.
“But Mr. Sreekumar took the initiative to appoint K.P. Satheesan, a designated senior lawyer in the High Court as a special public prosecutor, against my interests and while keeping me in the dark. This has caused significant loss of trust and confidence in Mr. Sreekumar’s integrity as a legal professional. His action is against the interest of his client and is antithetical to professional ethics, as per the Advocates Act. Bar Councils ought to take action in this regard. It is also an appropriate case for revoking his designation as a senior advocate,” she says in the petition.
When contacted by The Hindu, Mr. Sreekumar preferred not to comment on the allegations in the petition.
Published – February 08, 2025 09:20 pm IST