Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 1 The Centre has refused to grant prosecution sanction under aviation laws in the sensational case alleging an ‘attempt to murder’ Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inside an Indigo flight by Youth Congress workers.
The case pertains to an incident on June 13, 2022, when three Youth Congress activists, Farseen Majeed, R.K. Naveen Kumar, and Sunit Narayanan, allegedly rushed towards the Chief Minister aboard Indigo flight 6E-7407, which was flying from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram.
Following the episode, the CPI(M) has been trying to politically use this incident against the Congress leadership.
According to police, the workers had threatened to kill the Chief Minister while staging a protest inside the aircraft.
Former MLA and then Youth Congress vice-president K.S. Sabarinath was later named as a co-conspirator, bringing the total number of accused to four.
Initially, police booked the accused not only for attempt to murder but also under provisions of the Aircraft Act, citing that their actions endangered passengers and caused potential damage to the aircraft.
A special investigation team later submitted its report, and the state government forwarded a request to the Centre seeking sanction for prosecution, as mandated under aviation law.
However, despite repeated reminders over the past three years, the Centre has now officially denied sanction.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation communicated to the state government that the provisions of the Aircraft Security Act do not apply in this case.
Without this approval, the police have been unable to file the charge sheet.
The denial has sparked a setback for the prosecution, leaving the state government uncertain about the next legal steps.
The state Home Secretary has sought the opinion of the state Police Chief on how to proceed further.
The case had drawn significant attention at the time, given the grave allegation of an assassination attempt on a serving Chief Minister on a commercial flight.
With the Centre’s refusal to invoke aviation laws, the charges may now hinge only on criminal conspiracy and attempt to murder under the Indian Penal Code.
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