Kannur ADM Suicide Case: HC Orders CBI Probe Accepting Wife's Plea

In his order, Justice Bachu Kurian Thomas has directed that the case diary and the affidavit of the investigating officer be submitted by December 6.

Ernakulam: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday accepted the petition of K Manjusha for a CBI probe into the death of her husband, Kannur additional district magistrate Naveen Babu, who was found dead at his official residence. The High Court has asked the state government and the CBI to take a stand on the petition. The court has directed that the case diary and the affidavit of the investigating officer be submitted by December 6.

The court did not accept the family's request to stop the filing of the final report in the case and asked why were they against the completion of the investigation.

Even if a charge sheet is filed, the court's authority does not disappear and a CBI investigation can be ordered, the single bench observed during the hearing. The court asked whether the late ADM's death was suicide or murder.

The lawyer for Naveen Babu's family replied that the accused, P P Divya, is a politically influential person and that they have tampered with the evidence and there is suspicion of murder. Following this, Justice Bachu Kurian Thomas considered the petition.

Attending the late ADM's send-off function on October 14, Divya, who was allegedly not invited, had criticised Babu for delaying the approval of a petrol pump in Chengalai for several months and remarked that he approved only two days after being transferred, hinting that she knew the reasons behind the sudden approval. The following day, Babu was found dead at his official bungalow in Kannur.