KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the Ernakulam Principal Session Court to submit a report on progress in the Abhimanyu murder case. 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. 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 accused are highly influential persons who were released on bail without undergoing judicial custody for a significant time. The delay in commencing the trial had given undue advantage to the accused, Bhoopathy said.
The petitioner pointed out that the majority of prosecution witnesses were college students and most of them had moved abroad for higher education or employment. If the trial was delayed further the presence of witnesses would become a major issue. The trial should be conducted before the memory of witnesses fades away, she pleaded.
Abhimanyu, a 21-year-old from a tribal family in Idukki’s Vattavada, was stabbed to death by a gang of allegedly Campus Front of India (CFI) activists at Ernakulam Maharaja’s College in July 2018. The murder was the sequel to a dispute between SFI and CFI workers over the placement of some posters in the college.