Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala High Court has overturned a Sessions Court verdict acquitting five RSS workers in the 2015 murder of Janata Dal (United) leader Deepak, sentencing them to life imprisonment.

A Division Bench comprising Justice P B Suresh Kumar and Justice Jobin Sebastian delivered the judgment on an appeal filed by the State government and Deepak’s wife. The court found the five guilty under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and awarded them life imprisonment.

The court also directed the Thrissur District Legal Services Authority to provide compensation to the deceased leader’s family.

According to the prosecution, Deepak was attacked and killed on March 24, 2015, near his ration shop at Pazhuvil Centre by four assailants. The police had concluded that the murder was an act of retaliation by the accused, who believed Deepak was behind a failed murder attempt on one of them by members of the Socialist Janata Dal. Ten persons were initially accused of conspiring to murder Deepak, with five directly involved in the crime.

The Sessions Court had earlier acquitted all 10, citing inconsistencies in the prosecution's evidence, including the treatment-cum-wound certificate. It had also flagged a delay in FIR registration and its dispatch to the Magistrate, suggesting that it was to suppress the fact that the attackers were masked.

The High Court, however, criticised the lower court's reliance on the wound certificate, calling it casually recorded. It emphasised that the testimony of injured eyewitnesses should carry significant weight unless convincingly discredited.

Citing Brahm Swaroop v State of UP, the High Court said that an injured eyewitness is generally considered highly reliable, as their presence at the crime scene is indisputable.

The court also dismissed the Sessions Court’s observation on the FIR delay. It found that the investigating officer had responded promptly, first reaching the crime scene and then the hospital. A brief delay in recording the FIR, it said, was reasonable as the priority was to stabilise the injured witness.

The FIR was registered after the witness’s statement was taken and reached the Magistrate’s office the following morning—something the High Court deemed justifiable. The acquittals of the remaining accused were upheld due to lack of sufficient evidence.