JUDGMENT :

P.B. Suresh Kumar, J.

As some of the questions raised in these matters are common, they are disposed of by this common judgment. Parties and documents are referred to in this judgment, unless otherwise mentioned, as they appear in Crl.M.C.No.8198 of 2023.

2. A crime was registered on 16.04.2022 by Palakkad Town South Police Station as Crime No.318 of 2022 in connection with the murder of one Srinivasan, an activist of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)/Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). After investigation, a final report was filed in the said case against 43 accused under Sections 120B, 34, 118, 119, 109, 143, 144, 147, 148, 449, 341, 201, 212 and 302 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3(a)(b)(d) read with Section 7 of the Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988. The allegations in the final report, in essence, are that in retaliation of RSS/BJP activists committing murder of one Subair on 15.04.2022 who was an activist of the organisation, Popular Front of India (PFI), the accused who are activists of PFI conspired together and committed murder of Srinivasan. After complying with the procedures prescribed, the Jurisdictional Magistrate committed the accused for trial to the Court of Session and the case was taken to file by the Court of Session as S.C.No.982 of 2022 and made over the same to the files of the Additional Sessions Court-I, Palakkad.

3. The investigation in the case continued even after submission of the final report and it culminated in two supplementary final reports also, arraying some more persons as accused in the case. The persons arrayed as accused in the supplementary final reports were however not committed for trial and while committal proceedings initiated against them were pending before the Jurisdictional Magistrate as C.P. Nos.41 of 2022 and 61 of 2022, Central Government issued Annexure A2 order on 16.09.2022 invoking sub-section (5) of Section 6 and Section 8 of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 (NIA Act) in terms of which, the NIA (National Investigation Agency) was directed to take up investigation of the offences committed by the leaders, activists and members of PFI. It is stated in Annexure A2 order that the Central Government received information that the office bearers and activists of PFI and its affiliates in Kerala have conspired to instigate communal violence and radicalise its cadres to commit terrorist acts in the State and various other parts of the country; that the office bearers and activists of PFI based in Kerala maintain operational nexus with other proscribed international terrorist organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)/Daesh and Al-Qaida; that some of the activists of PFI are also members of these proscribed terrorist organisations and that PFI has created an organisational web which is stretched to recruit vulnerable Muslim youths into proscribed international terrorist organisations to commit terrorist acts and that the activists of PFI are indulging in activities prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony by creating feeling of enmity between people of different religions and groups through violent speeches, publications, articles, social media posts etc. with the intention to disrupt public tranquillity and have been seen to organize a movement intending that the participants be trained to use criminal force against people of other religions and groups so as to cause fear and alarm besides creating a feeling of insecurity among members of other religions and groups. It is also stated in Annexure A2 order that in the last few years, the said activists have been responsible for many violent incidents and murders in Kerala which have created terror in the minds of general public; that the activists are also indulging in Unlawful Activities which are intended to cause disaffection against India by inciting people and innocent Muslims to defy the Government and Institutions esta