Cheriyan Case: Court Rejects Plea To Defer A Final Decision On The Police Report

A day after CPI(M) leader Saji Cheriyan was sworn in as Minister, a Kerala court on Thursday rejected a plea to defer its final decision on a police report which gives a clean chit to him in a case against him for his alleged remarks against the Constitution.
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The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court at Thiruvalla here rejected the application by Baiju Noel M, a lawyer, who wanted a decision on the police report to be deferred as he had moved the Kerala High Court seeking a CBI probe into the issue.
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The advocate confirmed that the Magisterial Court declined his plea.
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It was on his complaint that the court had ordered the police to file a case in the matter.
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Noel, in his application, had contended that the police did not conduct a fair, proper, and impartial investigation into the case.
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Cheriyan was administered the oath of office on Wednesday by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan at the Raj Bhavan where MLAs of the Congress-led UDF opposition were absent in protest against the reinstatement of the CPI(M) leader in the Cabinet.
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Both the Congress and BJP had held protests in the State against the reinstatement.
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Khan initially created a flutter when he raised some concerns regarding the CPI(M) leader's reinstatement, saying "it was not a normal case", but he later approved the government's recommendation.
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Last week, the CPI(M) decided to bring him back into the Cabinet.
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The CPI(M) leader resigned in July last year from the Cabinet over his alleged remarks against the Constitution during a speech in Pathanamthitta district and the filing of a criminal case against him in that connection.