A Kerala court today adjourned till October 24 (Thursday) the hearing in the anticipatory bail plea filed by former Kannur district panchayat president PP Divya in the suicide abetment case filed against her in connection with the death of Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu.
The Thalassery sessions court which is due to hear Divya's pre-arrest bail plea today directed the police to present the relevant case records by the next hearing.
Divya, a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], has been charged with abetting the suicide of ADM Naveen Babu, who was found dead at his residence the morning after his farewell ceremony.
During the farewell event, Divya had made allegations of bribery against Babu, linking it to the delay in issuing a no-objection certificate (NOC) for a petrol pump. According to her, Babu only approved the NOC after a bribe was paid.
Naveen Babu, who had been posted away from his home district for the past few years, was due to assume office as the Pathanamthitta ADM and was just seven months away from retirement when he died at his official residence in Kannur.
After Divya being accused of driving Babu to die by suicide by her public remarks, she was removed from her post as the district panchayat president.
To avoid arrest, Divya filed an anticipatory bail application before the Thalassery Sessions Court.
In her plea, she explained that her remarks during ADM Naveen Babu’s farewell event were not meant to pressure or harm him. According to her, the comments were made to promote administrative efficiency and address concerns regarding corruption.
Divya emphasized that she had been invited to the event by the Kannur District Collector, Arun K Vijayan and that her statements were made in good faith, with no malicious intent.
Prior to this incident, it was stated that there had been bribery complaints against Naveen Babu, filed by individuals named Gangadaran and Prashanth.
In her bail plea, Divya said that her statements were intended to address these concerns, rather than to pressure Babu.
She added that she is seeking bail to take care of her elderly parents and assured the court of her willingness to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation.
According to reports, Advocate K Viswan appeared for Divya before the court today and argued that her remarks were meant to highlight corruption and not to provoke Naveen Babu to take his life.
Advocates John Ralph and PM Sajitha represented the prosecution and requested more time to file their arguments against Divya’s bail plea.
The court, therefore, posted the matter for hearing on October 24 after directing the police to submit all relevant police records by then for the court’s consideration.