Kerala Court Bars Arrest Of Congress MLA In Wayanad Party Worker Suicide Case Until January 15

Police have named Balakrishnan, Appachan and two others in the First Information Report (FIR) under the abetment to suicide section of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The advocate emphasised that Balakrishnan is not evading authorities and remains under 24-hour police protection.

Source : niyamasabha

A Kerala court on Friday instructed the police not to arrest Congress MLA IC Balakrishnan and Wayanad District Congress Committee (DCC) President N D Appachan, both accused in the abetment to suicide case of Wayanad Congress office-bearer N M Vijayan and his son Jijesh, until January 15.

The court issued the directive during a hearing on Balakrishnan’s anticipatory bail plea and requested the case diary for review. Balakrishnan’s advocate stated that the order extends to Appachan, who has filed a separate anticipatory bail plea. The court has scheduled detailed arguments for January 15, as per a report on PTI.

The advocate emphasised that Balakrishnan is not evading authorities and remains under 24-hour police protection. He also confirmed his client’s cooperation with the investigation and added that no formal notice has been issued to Balakrishnan for questioning.

Police have named Balakrishnan, Appachan, and two others in the First Information Report (FIR) under the abetment to suicide section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The charges stem from a suicide note reportedly written by Vijayan, who served as the Wayanad DCC treasurer.

Vijayan, 78, and his son Jijesh, 38, succumbed to injuries on December 27, 2024, at the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital after attempting suicide. However, the police did not recover any suicide note in connection with the incident. The incident has sparked a political controversy with the ruling CPI(M) accusing Balakrishnan of involvement in a cooperative bank job scam that allegedly led to the tragedy, as per the report.

Reports suggest that Vijayan, in his role as a party office-bearer, collected money from individuals seeking employment at a Congress-controlled cooperative bank, purportedly under Balakrishnan’s direction.

Meanwhile, Vijayan was a long-serving office-bearer of the district Congress for over a decade.