Muthanga violence: Kerala HC grants bail to Geethanandan, three others, cites flaws in conviction

The Kerala High Court has suspended the sentence of four persons convicted in connection with the violence that accompanied a police operation to evict Adivasi tribal protesters from the Muthanga wildlife sanctuary in Wayanad in 2003. The court ordered their release on bail while hearing their appeals against the conviction and sentence imposed by the Principal Sessions Court, Kalpetta.

A single-judge Bench of Justice A. Badharudeen passed the order on the appeals filed by social activist M. Geethanandan and three others — Binu, Rameshan and Anilkumar — challenging their conviction and seeking bail.

In an oral observation earlier this month, the High Court had noted that the trial court ought to have conducted a thorough scrutiny and arrived at a conclusive finding, rather than relying solely on prima facie evidence while convicting the four. The case pertains to an alleged attempt to murder a senior civil police officer and the alleged abduction of a forest range officer, both of which were investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The CBI's standing counsel submitted that the agency would also file an appeal in the matter, arguing that there were 'flaws' in the sessions court's judgment.

The trial court had awarded five years' rigorous imprisonment to each of the convicts and imposed a fine of ₹36,000. The convicts contended that the conviction was legally unsustainable as it was based on the trial court's finding that there was prima facie evidence of a criminal conspiracy.

The violence at Muthanga had resulted in the deaths of a protester and a police officer. The trial court, however, acquitted the four appellants of charges relating to the death of police constable K.V. Vinod in the violence. The judgment was delivered on July 31, 23 years after the land agitation.

In 2003, armed police and forest officials moved into the Muthanga wildlife sanctuary to evict hundreds of Adivasi tribal families. The families had occupied the reserved forest land under the banner of the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha (AGMS), demanding equitable distribution of land.

Of the 57 people accused in the case, 15 died before the trial concluded. Asokan, the second accused and one of those who died, was found guilty of delivering the fatal blow to the police constable.

The High Court's decision to suspend the sentence means the convicts will remain free while their appeals are pending. The case has drawn sustained attention to the legal aftermath of the Muthanga agitation and the broader issue of tribal land rights in Kerala. The trial court's verdict had been criticised by civil liberties groups for relying on what they called weak evidence; the High Court's observation lends weight to those concerns, though the final outcome will depend on the appellate process.