Kochi: Kerala High Court on Wednesday issued an interim order preventing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from taking any coercive measures, including arrest, against the parents of the minor girls who were allegedly raped and murdered in Walayar, Palakkad in 2017, reported Bar and Bench.

The CBI had recently filed a chargesheet naming the parents as accused, alleging that they facilitated the sexual assault on their daughters by failing to protect them from the accused. Following this, the parents approached the HC, seeking to quash the chargesheet, arguing that the central agency had conducted a “planned investigation” aimed at protecting the real culprits.

Justice C Jayachandran had earlier sought the CBI’s response to their plea on March 25. On Wednesday, the Court granted them interim protection and scheduled the matter for a detailed hearing after the upcoming court recess.

The Walayar case revolves around the deaths of two minor girls who were found hanging inside their house after an alleged sexual assault in 2017. The eldest of the siblings, aged 13, was found hanging inside their hut on January 13, 2017, and her nine-year-old sister had died on March 4 that year in the same manner.

Though the mother had alleged that it was a case of murder, Walayar police came to the conclusion that the girls were sexually abused in an unnatural way by five persons, including a juvenile, for nearly one year, till they died by suicide.

In 2019, a POCSO court acquitted all the accused due to insufficient evidence. However, the HC later ordered a retrial and handed over the probe to the CBI, which filed its chargesheet in January 2025.

The agency accused the parents of abetting the crime and destroying crucial evidence by burning their daughters’ belongings, including clothes and school bags. They were charged under various provisions of the POCSO Act, the Juvenile Justice Act, and the Indian Penal Code, including sections related to abetment of sexual offences, cruelty towards children, and destruction of evidence.

Challenging the CBI’s findings, the parents moved the High Court, alleging that the investigation was biased and influenced by "extraneous considerations" to shield the actual offenders. Their plea contended that the CBI ignored scientific evidence pointing to homicide and instead prematurely concluded that the children had died by suicide.

As members of a marginalised Scheduled Caste community, the parents also highlighted their socio-economic vulnerabilities. They referenced a previous Kerala High Court judgment that acknowledged their backward social status and the impact it had on their actions, particularly regarding the delayed reporting of the abuse.

They asserted that their actions had been misinterpreted and that the accusations against them were speculative rather than based on concrete evidence. Additionally, they have sought a fresh probe into the possibility of murder, including a forensic examination of a contested ‘death note’ allegedly written by an accused. Despite court permission, the CBI had not sent this note for forensic analysis.

The parents also demanded that the chargesheet pending before the CBI Court in Ernakulam be quashed. Advocate PV Jeevesh represented the parents in court, while Senior Advocate KP Sathhesan appeared for the CBI.