The Principal Sessions Judge in Thalassery today pronounced six RSS workers guilty of attempting to murder senior CPI(M) leader and MLA P Jayarajan at his home in 1999. The court acquitted three other accused and reserved the sentence for tomorrow.

The keenly fought political case going back to the peak period of the bloody RSS-CPI(M) feud in Kannur belt had been on a roller coaster all these years. The verdict itself had to be postponed no less than 16 times amid charges and counter charges. The RSS had alleged the fast track judge who was trying the case was biased.

A group of armed RSS men had barged into the house of Jayarajan, who is a senior member of the CPI(M) state committee, in August 1999 and hacked him. This was not long after an RSS man in the same area had been attacked with country bombs, allegedly by CPI(M) men. The attack left Jayarajan with a nearly severed right hand, which had to be sewn back. He is still handicapped.

Jayarajan subsequently hit the headlines after he won with a record margin two years ago at the bypoll to the Koothuparamba seat that he was forced to quit after the Supreme Court nullified his earlier election.

This was after his rival candidate petitioned that Jayarajan had been sentenced to 29 months in jail by a local court in connection with attacking a local post office and telephone exchange with his followers.