Kochi, Aug 13 (IANS) After repeated delays and warnings from the court, all 16 accused in the 2018 Abhimanyu murder case appeared before the trial court on Thursday, paving the way for the long-pending trial to finally get underway.
The accused, alleged to be Campus Front and Popular Front activists, had failed to comply with the trial court’s direction to appear on two earlier occasions.
They turned up after the court warned of stringent action for continued non-compliance.
The newly framed charges were read out to all 16 accused.
They denied the charges and pleaded not guilty.
The case will be considered again on Monday, with the trial scheduled to commence on August 17.
The development comes days after the Kerala High Court granted the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court a final extension of four months to complete the trial, making it clear that no further extension would be granted.
It had, on January 24, directed the Sessions Court to complete the proceedings within nine months.
The case concerns the murder of 21-year-old SFI activist Abhimanyu, a student of Maharaja’s College, who was fatally stabbed during a clash on the campus on July 1, 2018.
Four other SFI activists were injured in the attack.
According to the prosecution, the accused, allegedly linked to the now-banned Campus Front, attacked the students following a dispute over campus posters.
The police subsequently filed charges including murder, criminal conspiracy, rioting and unlawful assembly.
The Ernakulam Central Police filed the charge sheet in September 2018, and the case was later committed to the Principal Sessions Court.
The trial, however, remained stalled for more than seven years.
The delay had prompted Abhimanyu’s mother to approach the High Court in 2024 seeking speedy completion of the proceedings.
The High Court intervened after noting that the trial had not even commenced despite the passage of several years.
The case was also embroiled in controversy after crucial documents reportedly went missing from court custody.
The documents were later recreated, allowing the proceedings to move forward.
With the latest appearance of all the accused and the trial now scheduled to begin, the prosecution faces the task of completing one of Kerala’s closely watched campus murder trials within the final deadline fixed by the High Court.
–IANS
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