The facts unravelled by the various stages of the chequered career of this seemingly interminable case, reveal the shockingly disturbing manner in which an investigation ordered by no less a court than the highest Court of this country and the consequent prosecution, have been attempted to be sabotaged by an I.P.S. Officer by grossly abusing the process of various Courts. He was resorting to a tiring out process in which the de facto complainant who had exhibited tremendous courage to fight his case upto the Apex Court had to give up his battle by bidding farewell to this world when the Providential call came in the meanwhile.

2. In this Revision filed under Sec. 397 read with Sec. 401 Cr.P.C. the revision petitioner, K.G. Premshankar, Addl. Director General of Police, Thiruvananthapuram and who was at the relevant time Superintendent of Police, Kannur challenges Annexure - V order dated 22-2-2007 passed by the Chief Judl. Magistrate, Ernakulam in in Crl.M.P. 751 of 2007 in C.C. No. 513 of 1995 refusing to drop the proceedings against the revision petitioner who contended that there was no valid sanction to prosecute him for offences punishable under Sections 323, 342, 357, 27, 465 and 201 read with Sec. 120 - B I.P.C.

3. I heard Advocates Sri. K. Ramakumar and Sri. Manjeri Sunder Raj, the learned counsel appearing for the revision petitioner, Adv. Sri. P.G. Thambi, the learned Director General of Prosecutions and Adv. Sri. S. Sreekumar, the learned Standing Counsel for the C.B.I.

THE FLASH BACK

4. A chronological resume of the facts leading to this Crl.R.P. is as under:-

"THE PRE-OCCURRENCE BACKDROP

Dates: 1987-1988:

The de facto complainant who is now no more was one Maniyeri Madhavan. He was a journalist by profession. He was also the Editor, Printer and Publisher of an evening

Daily by name "Sudinam" rinted and published from Kannur. The printing of the said daily as done at "Jyothi Printers" at Knnur. During 1987-1988 Maniyeri Madhavan was publishing through Sudinam many news items against the police, particularly, against the revision petitioner Prem Shanker I.P.S. who was then the District Superintendent of Police at Kannur. The first accused and other police officers under him were infuriated and annoyed by the various news items published by Maniyeri Madhavan against them and were waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on Maniyeri Madhavan. While so, a news item appeared in the Sudinam Evening Daily dated 2-2-1988 to the effect that an adivasi girl by name Manha aged 16 years and having her

Permanent residence at Arnappara in Tirunelli amsom of Wayanad District was ravished by one Rajan from his house at Kannur where the said Mnha was working as a domestic servant. Since the disclosure of the identity of the rape victim was also an adivasi girl amounted to an offence punishable under section 228 A of the Indian Penal Code as well as under Sec. 7(1) (d) of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, a complaint dated 5-2-1988 purportedly by Manha and her parents by name Chandu and Ammini were caused to be preferred in the office of the Superintendent of Police, Wayanad. The above complaint was eventually got transmitted to the Kannur Town Police Station from where the 2nd accused namely K.A. Abdul Gafoor, the Sub Inspector registered a case against Maniyeri Madhavan and others as Crime No. 50 of 1988 for the aforementioned offences.

12-02-1988:

THE OCCURRENCE PROPER:

Under the guise of investigating the above case, namely, Crime No. 50 of 1988, the 12 accused persons herein in pursuance of the criminal conspiracy hatched by them took Maniyeri Madhavan and his trainee reporter into custody and physically assaulted them and damaged the printing press and other allied properties of Maniyeri Madhavan in the night of 12-2-1988. The bodily assault on Maniyeri Madhavan was mainly committed inside the police Jeep in which he was taken to the Kannur Town Police Station in a circuitous route from the vicinity of Jyothi Printe