<p>Kasaragod, Kerala: A Kerala court on Saturday discharged BJP state president K Surendran and five others from the Manjeshwaram election bribery case.</p>.<p>Surendran and the others were discharged by Kasaragod Sessions Judge Sanu S Panicker.</p>.<p>The BJP state chief's lawyer told reporters that the court said that prima facie the case would not stand.</p>.<p>The lawyer also said that the court accepted the defense argument that there was no need to go for trial in the case.</p>.<p>He further said that the defense was able to prove that the case was a fabricated one and that there was a political conspiracy behind it.</p>.<p>The detailed order is not yet available.</p>.<p>Surendran, while talking to media outside the court after the verdict, recalled that he was saying right from the beginning: "truth will prevail".</p>.<p>He added that it was a "well planned conspiracy to implicate him in the false case to destroy his political prospects".</p>.CPM-BJP nexus in Kerala? Recent events fuel charges.<p>"Leaders of the CPI(M), Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) were behind the conspiracy," he alleged.</p>.<p>He claimed that the aim behind the false case was to weaken the party and shake their confidence, but it was unsuccessful.</p>.<p>The Crime Branch of the Kerala police filed a charge sheet against the BJP state president in the January last year.</p>.<p>Surendran was accused of intimidating his rival candidate to withdraw from the contest for the Manjeshwaram constituency in the 2021 assembly polls.</p>.<p>He was charged under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act which are non-bailable.</p>.<p>The case was registered as per the directions of a Magistrate Court which considered a petition filed by V V Ramesan, the CPI(M) candidate, who fought the election against Surendran in Manjeswaram.</p>.<p>The case was filed under Sections 171 (B) and (E) (Bribery) of the Indian Penal Code. The case was later handed over to the Crime Branch.</p>.<p>BSP candidate Sundara had alleged that he was initially threatened and later given Rs 2.5 lakh as a bribe by the BJP to withdraw from the contest.</p>.<p>Sundara had claimed that Sunil Naik, a Yuva Morcha leader and a close aide of Surendran, had handed over the money and a smartphone to him.</p>.<p>The BJP had denied the allegations.</p>.<p>Sundara, a Yakshagana artiste, had contested the election in 2016. He had filed his nomination once again in 2021 but had withdrawn.</p>.<p>Surendran, however, lost the election from Manjeswaram in the polls. IUML's A K M Ashraf won the seat with 65,758 votes, while Surendran managed to bag 65,013 votes. CPI(M)'s Ramesan got 40,639 votes.</p>
<p>Kasaragod, Kerala: A Kerala court on Saturday discharged BJP state president K Surendran and five others from the Manjeshwaram election bribery case.</p>.<p>Surendran and the others were discharged by Kasaragod Sessions Judge Sanu S Panicker.</p>.<p>The BJP state chief's lawyer told reporters that the court said that prima facie the case would not stand.</p>.<p>The lawyer also said that the court accepted the defense argument that there was no need to go for trial in the case.</p>.<p>He further said that the defense was able to prove that the case was a fabricated one and that there was a political conspiracy behind it.</p>.<p>The detailed order is not yet available.</p>.<p>Surendran, while talking to media outside the court after the verdict, recalled that he was saying right from the beginning: "truth will prevail".</p>.<p>He added that it was a "well planned conspiracy to implicate him in the false case to destroy his political prospects".</p>.CPM-BJP nexus in Kerala? Recent events fuel charges.<p>"Leaders of the CPI(M), Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) were behind the conspiracy," he alleged.</p>.<p>He claimed that the aim behind the false case was to weaken the party and shake their confidence, but it was unsuccessful.</p>.<p>The Crime Branch of the Kerala police filed a charge sheet against the BJP state president in the January last year.</p>.<p>Surendran was accused of intimidating his rival candidate to withdraw from the contest for the Manjeshwaram constituency in the 2021 assembly polls.</p>.<p>He was charged under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act which are non-bailable.</p>.<p>The case was registered as per the directions of a Magistrate Court which considered a petition filed by V V Ramesan, the CPI(M) candidate, who fought the election against Surendran in Manjeswaram.</p>.<p>The case was filed under Sections 171 (B) and (E) (Bribery) of the Indian Penal Code. The case was later handed over to the Crime Branch.</p>.<p>BSP candidate Sundara had alleged that he was initially threatened and later given Rs 2.5 lakh as a bribe by the BJP to withdraw from the contest.</p>.<p>Sundara had claimed that Sunil Naik, a Yuva Morcha leader and a close aide of Surendran, had handed over the money and a smartphone to him.</p>.<p>The BJP had denied the allegations.</p>.<p>Sundara, a Yakshagana artiste, had contested the election in 2016. He had filed his nomination once again in 2021 but had withdrawn.</p>.<p>Surendran, however, lost the election from Manjeswaram in the polls. IUML's A K M Ashraf won the seat with 65,758 votes, while Surendran managed to bag 65,013 votes. CPI(M)'s Ramesan got 40,639 votes.</p>