KOCHI: Kerala High Court on Friday directed the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court to complete the trial in the murder of Abhimanyu, SFI leader of Maharajas College, Ernakulam, within nine months.
The court issued the order on a petition filed by Abhimanyu’s mother, seeking a directive to expedite the trial. In her petition, Bhoopathy pointed out that the case was still in the preliminary hearing stage. Even six years after the murder, charges had not been framed.
The hearing was put off multiple times, between July 11, 2023, and November 18, 2023, to facilitate the appearance of the accused.
However, most of the accused were absent on all occasions, her plea said. The court had sought a report from the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court on the progress of the trial.
The Sessions Court on Friday informed the High Court that the trial could be complete in nine months. The court recorded the submission and disposed of the petition. Abhimanyu was stabbed to death by a gang allegedly consisting of members of the Campus Front of India at Maharaja’s College in July 2018.