The Thalassery Second Additional District and Sessions court has partially allowed a petition filed by Manjusha, the wife of former Kannur Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Naveen Babu, seeking further investigation into his death.
The court directed the investigation team to conduct a detailed probe into four specific aspects of the case and submit a report by May 30.
Rejecting the argument of the police and prosecution that further investigation was unnecessary, the court ordered that the official phone of the sole accused, former Kannur district panchayat president P.P. Divya, be examined and all related data collected.
The court also asked investigators to produce documents supporting the claim made by P.P. Prashanth that the alleged bribe given to Naveen Babu had been raised by pledging gold. In addition, the court directed a detailed inquiry into the meeting reportedly held between Mr. Prashanth and Naveen Babu.
Ms. Manjusha had approached the court seeking further investigation into 13 aspects of the case. Her counsel, Advocate P.M. Sajitha, raised 14 demands through two petitions before the Sessions court, including a directive to produce the phone call records of Mr. Prashanth and other key individuals which were allegedly absent in the case diary submitted by the Special Investigation Team.
Missing call records
According to the petition, the call records of Mr. Prashanth from October 6 to 14, 2024, the period during which he had alleged that Naveen Babu demanded a bribe, were not included in the report submitted by the police. The plea also pointed out that the phone conversations of the then Vigilance officer during October 5-14 were not recorded and sought their inclusion in the investigation.
The petition further alleged political interference in the probe, stating that the officer who investigated the case had later been fielded as a candidate by the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Naveen Babu committed suicide in his official quarters at Pallikunnu following a farewell meeting held at the Collectorate in October 2024. During the meeting, Ms. Divya, who was the district panchayat president at the time, had reportedly arrived without invitation and made adverse remarks against the officer.
Naveen Babu had planned to travel to Chengannur on the Malabar Express later that night, but was found dead the next morning.
Ms. Divya, the lone accused in the case for abetment of suicide, had earlier been denied anticipatory bail by the court. She was subsequently arrested and spent ten days in jail before securing bail.
Ms. Manjusha had initially filed the plea for further investigation before the Kannur Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, which later transferred the matter to the Sessions court in Thalassery.
The family had also approached the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court of India seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case, but both courts had dismissed the request.
Published - March 16, 2026 03:33 pm IST
