Crime Branch inquiry ordered against Kerala minister over remark on Constitution

The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, ordered a Crime Branch inquiry into allegations that Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian disparaged the Indian Constitution during a 2022 speech in Pathanamthitta district. This development dealt a blow to the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), reigniting political tensions over the minister’s remarks.
In 2022, a video surfaced showing Cherian saying that the Constitution’s “aim is to exploit the common man”. He had allegedly described the Constitution as “crafted by the British” and “anti-working class”.
The controversy prompted his resignation from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Cabinet. However, Cherian was reinstated in 2023 after a Thiruvalla court accepted a police report clearing him of any wrongdoing.
The High Court quashed the earlier police report and directed a fresh investigation, citing prima facie evidence of Cherian’s offensive remarks. Kerala Police’s report, accepted by a magistrate court, had cleared Cherian of insulting the Constitution or the architects of the Constitution.
In 2022, Cherian, speaking at a CPI(M) event in Pathanamthitta’s Mallappally area, said: “We all say that India has a beautifully written Constitution. But, I would say that the Constitution is written to rob most people of India. An Indian wrote a Constitution which was prepared by the British. It has been practised in this country for 75 years.”
However, Cherian denied wrongdoing. He noted that the High Court did not examine the case’s merit, but only ordered further investigation. Cherian highlighted he was not a party to the case and reserved the right to appeal the decision.
Cherian, ruling out another resignation, emphasised he stepped down in 2022 as a moral stand and reiterated his faith in the judicial process.
When the controversy broke out two years ago, the BJP and the United Democratic Front held protest marches to his office.
Senior CPI(M) leader had tried to defend Cherian’s speech saying the minister was musing over the political situation where right-wing forces were working against the secular and democratic foundations of the Constitution.
In light of Kerala High Court’s decision, Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan demanded Cherian’s resignation, arguing that the minister had “lost the moral and legal right to continue in office”.
He likened Cherian’s comments to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue MS Golwalkar’s criticisms of the Constitution and warned of intensified protests inside and outside the Assembly.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran said if Cherian continued as a minister, it would turn the High Court order for a Crime Branch inquiry “a sham.”
The BJP, led by former Union Minister V Muraleedharan, also demanded that Cherian resign, alleging that the High Court’s decision validated public suspicions of political interference in the initial investigation.