Kerala HC cancels bail granted to eight accused in Walayar mob lynching case

Kochi: High court has cancelled the bail granted to eight accused in the Walayar mob lynching case in which a 31-year-old migrant worker from Chhattisgarh was beaten to death on suspicion of theft. HC directed them to surrender before the jurisdictional court within three days.A bench of Justice A Badharudeen issued the order in an appeal filed by the state govt challenging a Palakkad special court order which had granted bail to the accused. The single bench also observed that there was a serious lapse on the part of the special court and that such an error should not have occurred, adding that it must exercise greater vigilance while dealing with similar cases.The case arose from an incident in which a violent mob brutally attacked and killed Ram Narayan Baghel (31) on suspicion of theft and allegedly branded him a "Bangladeshi infiltrator", at Attappallam in Walayar on Dec 17, 2025. A special investigation team was subsequently constituted, and eight accused — Anu, Anandan, Rajesh, Shaji, Jagadheesh Kumar, Prasad, Murali and Vipin, all from Attappallam — were arrested.However, the special court granted bail to the accused without complying with Section 15A (3) of the SC/ST (POA) Act, 2018, which mandates issuing notice to the dependent of the victim. In the appeal, the prosecution also pointed to the criminal antecedents of the accused. HC also heard the victim's brother, who had been arrayed as a party to the appeal.Perusing the case records, HC observed that it was shocking that the special court had thoughtlessly granted bail in a serious case involving the mob lynching of a member of the Scheduled Caste community without issuing notice to ensure the mandatory hearing of the victim's dependent. The court further observed that, prima facie, the prosecution records indicated a clear case of mob lynching driven by discrimination based on the victim's place of origin.It noted that the investigation into the serious crime was at a preliminary stage and required further progress, and that the premature grant of bail could adversely affect the investigation.Cancelling the bail, HC clarified that, after surrender and detention, the accused would be at liberty to file fresh bail applications, which the special court could consider in accordance with law after issuing notice to the victim's dependent and complying with other provisions of the Act.