The Thiruvananthapuram Principal Sessions Court late on Tuesday granted bail to Youth Congress state vice president K S Sabarinadhan in the case related to the alleged conspiracy to assassinate the Chief Minister inside an IndiGo flight. The court has, however, imposed normal bail conditions.
Sabarinadhan has to appear before the investigation team on July 20, 21 and 22, everyday at 10 a.m. He also has to surrender his mobile and furnish a bond of Rs. 50,000.
Sabarinadhan called the chief minister a "coward" as he came out of the court.
"If the Chief Minister said that he was sought to be attacked though it is well known that even a Reynolds pen cannot be sneaked into a plane, it only shows he is a coward of the highest order," Sabarinadhan said.
The prosecution had described Sabarinadhan as the "master brain" behind the conspiracy to attack the Chief Minister inside the IndiGo flight. The police had also asked for Sabarinadhan's custody as it was argued that he had to be interrogated along with the three other accused. Sabarinadhan has been arraigned as the fourth accused in the case.
Sabarinadhan's defence was that his arrest had been recorded illegally. The court itself had told the police that the Youth Congress leader should not be arrested till his bail plea was heard.
The prosecution, after consulting with the police, then said that Sabarinadhan had already been arrested. The Youth Congress leaders said that Sabarinadhan had signed on his arrest papers only after 12 noon. But the prosecution told the Court that he was arrested by 10.50 a.m.
Opposition Leader V D Satheesan said that the conspiracy hatched in the Chief Minister's Office to jail Sabarinadhan had fallen flat. The High Court itself had earlier said it was not an assassination attempt.
What remains is the CM's Role in the gold smuggling scandal. "The Chief Minister should ask for a CBI enquiry into the scam," Satheesan said.
"Doesn't the Chief Minister have a sense of dignity," KPCC president K Sudhakaran asked after Sabarinadhan secured bail. He also said that his arrest was illegal.
Youth Congress President Shafi Parambil said Kerala had never seen a more weakling chief minister than Pinarayi Vijayan.