Allegation of V.D. Satheesan’s ‘second marriage’ triggers political and legal controversy
UPDATE: The Kerala police have registered a case against the owner of a Malayalam news channel and two unknown persons after the owner said the men approached him with papers alleging that Chief Minister VD Satheesan had illegally registered a second marriage in Karnataka in 2012.
Thiruvananthapuram cyber crime police station registered the case against Anto Augustine, Managing Director of Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC) that owns the news channel Reporter Live and two others based on a complaint filed by Congress leader Raju P Nair demanding a comprehensive investigation into the false and fabricated allegations.
The case was registered under sections 336(4)(forgery),337 (forgery of public registers), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy),356(3) (criminal defamation),340(2) (forged document or electronic record),339 (possession of forged documents) under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
A CONTROVERSY has erupted in Kerala following remarks by Anto Augustine, Managing Director of Reporter TV, regarding an alleged second marriage of Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan.
Speaking at a recent function, Augustine reportedly said that two young men had approached him with documents which they claimed showed that Satheesan had registered a second marriage.
Augustine described the purported material as a major news story, but did not publicly produce the documents. He later said that he had no answer to questions concerning the allegation.
The allegation has subsequently taken a legal turn. Raju P. Nair, a Congress leader and KPCC spokesperson, approached the Director General of Police, alleging that fabricated documents may have been prepared as part of a conspiracy to defame the Chief Minister and destabilise the government.
The complaint sought an investigation into the alleged conspiracy, identification of the two people who purportedly brought the documents, and recovery of the documents said to be in Augustine's possession. Police have reportedly been directed to register a case.
Allegation remains unverified
There is, however, an important distinction between the allegation and an established fact. No credible evidence establishing that V.D. Satheesan entered into a second marriage has been publicly verified in the reports reviewed for this story.
The available reporting concerns Augustine's remarks, the purported documents and the subsequent complaint and police action.
The controversy comes at a particularly sensitive time for Reporter TV and Augustine. Kerala Police have also registered a case connected with the controversy surrounding the proposed Lionel Messi/Argentina football match in Kerala, with Augustine named as an accused.
Police subsequently conducted searches at the Reporter TV office and premises connected with Augustine.
Augustine has said that he would cooperate with the investigation into the Messi controversy and has questioned aspects of the government's action against the media organisation.
The latest developments therefore place the alleged second-marriage claim within a wider political and legal controversy. Whether the documents referred to by Augustine actually exist, and if so whether they are genuine, are matters for the investigation to establish.
