The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to Abdul Sathar, then Secretary General of the Kerala unit of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI), in connection with the 2022 conspiracy case involving the murder of RSS worker Srinivasan in Palakkad, stating that no one can be jailed merely for their ideology.
A bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order while hearing Sathar’s special leave petition against the denial of bail by the Kerala High Court.
“You cannot put someone in jail for their ideology. This is the trend we find. It is because they have adopted a particular ideology, they are put in jail,” the bench told the counsel appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The NIA counsel informed the Supreme Court that although Abdul Sathar was not named in the main FIR related to RSS worker Srinivasan’s murder, he allegedly recruited cadres and conducted arms training as PFI’s General Secretary, and had 71 prior antecedents against him.
Senior Advocate Aditya Sondhi, representing Abdul Sathar, argued that all 71 antecedents were related to hartal incidents and that the Kerala High Court had directed his inclusion in these cases ex officio due to his role as PFI Secretary General, adding that Sathar had already secured bail in all of them.
In response to Justice Oka’s query about protest-related cases, the NIA counsel stated that there were seven cases against Abdul Sathar under Section 353 and three under Section 153 of the Indian Penal Code.
The NIA counsel alleged that Abdul Sathar actively participated in all such activities, repeatedly committed similar offences, and that the protests were driven by a specific agenda titled “India 2047,” arguing that custody was the only way to prevent further offences and that the underlying ideology itself incited serious criminal acts.
Expressing concern over the prosecution’s stance, Justice Oka criticized the preventive approach of prolonged incarceration, remarking, “That’s the problem with the approach. The approach is we will keep the person behind the bar…”
Highlighting the importance of due process, Justice Bhuyan added, “So subject him to trial, punish him. The process can’t become the punishment,” underscoring the Court’s view that pre-trial detention should not serve as a substitute for conviction or punishment.
In its order, the Supreme Court granted him bail, observing that Abdul Sathar had no direct role in the assassination of RSS worker Srinivasan and that the antecedents against him largely related to protest activities in September 2022.
The Court also granted bail to two other accused, Yahiya Koya Thangal and Abdul Raoof C.A., applying the same reasoning that the trial is unlikely to conclude in the near future.
The present case is part of a series of petitions filed by multiple accused, and on May 19, 2025, the Supreme Court granted bail to three—Saddam Hussain Mk, Ashraf, and Noushad M—observing that the delay in trial, which was stayed by the Court itself, could not be used against them, and noting that the allegations did not point to their active involvement in the murder.
Ranjith Sreenivasan, the BJP OBC Morcha state secretary, was killed at his home on December 19, 2021, allegedly by activists affiliated with PFI and SDPI, just hours after SDPI state secretary KS Shan was allegedly killed by BJP and RSS activists on the night of December 18.
The Kerala High Court on June 25, 2024, granted bail to 17 of the 26 accused PFI members, who are also facing trial for allegedly instigating communal violence in the state and other parts of the country.
, in connection with the 2022 conspiracy case involving the murder of RSS worker Srinivasan in Palakkad, stating that no one can be jailed merely for their ideology.){kind=link}