On Monday, State Congress President K Sudhakaran personally appeared before the Kerala High Court in connection with a criminal contempt case filed against him due to his purported comments targeting the judiciary.

The Division Bench, headed by Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Harisankar V. Menon, has instructed Sudhakaran to submit an affidavit regarding the matter within a span of four weeks.

Advocate Janardhana Shenoy filed the case against Sudhakaran, alleging contemptuous remarks directed at the judiciary for its refusal to initiate a CBI investigation into the murder of Kerala Youth Congress Worker Shuhaib.

Shuhaib, a 29-year-old Youth Congress worker, was tragically murdered, allegedly by CPI(M) workers, in Kannur district on February 12, 2018. His parents, dissatisfied with the local police's investigation, approached the High Court, alleging involvement of ruling party members in the murder. Initially, a single judge ordered a CBI investigation, citing concerns about the lack of transparency in the police inquiry. However, this order was overturned by a Division Bench, which found insufficient evidence to support claims of bias or unfairness in the police investigation.

It's alleged that on August 3, 2019, K Sudhakaran delivered a speech concerning the Division Bench's judgment rejecting the CBI probe. Reportedly, he remarked that the Division Bench's order "lacked sense." Subsequently, a criminal contempt case was filed against Sudhakaran, with sanction obtained from the Advocate General.

Initially, the court had summoned Sudhakaran to appear on March 4, 2024. However, he submitted an application requesting to excuse his absence on that date due to Parliamentary Elections. After the application was rejected, Sudhakaran appeared before the court on Monday as scheduled.

The matter has now been posted to June 24, 2024.

Counsel for Petitioner: Advocate Surin George Ipe

Counsel for Respondents: Senior Advocate S Sreekumar, Advocates P. Martin Jose, V.S. Chandrasekharan, Viju Thomas, Thomas P. Kuruvilla, Ajay Ben Jose, Manjunath Menon, Sachin Jacob Ambat, Harikrishnan S., R. Githesh.

Case Title: Janardhana Shenoy K V Kumbakudi Sudhakaran