The Kerala High Court on Monday declined a petition requesting a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death of Naveen Babu, the former Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Kannur. The court upheld an earlier decision by a single bench that rejected a transfer of the investigation to the CBI, as demanded by Babu’s widow, Manjusha.
Naveen Babu allegedly took his own life following accusations of corruption, which were publicly leveled against him by P P Divya, the former Kannur District Panchayat President, during his farewell ceremony. Divya, a CPI(M) leader, had attended the event uninvited on October 14 of the previous year and criticized Babu for delaying the approval of a petrol pump in Chengalai for several months. She suggested that his sudden approval of the project, just two days after his transfer, was suspicious.
Following these allegations and Babu’s subsequent death, Divya was arrested by the police in connection with the incident. Despite her arrest, Babu’s family expressed dissatisfaction with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by the Kerala Police and indicated plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
In the initial hearing, the single bench of the High Court directed the DIG (Kannur) to oversee the ongoing investigation by the SIT. Babu’s widow had argued in her plea that the investigation was not being conducted properly and voiced concerns over the political influence wielded by the accused, which she feared could derail the investigative process.
