Lynching of Madhu: Kerala HC reserves verdict on appeals

Kochi: High court on Tuesday reserved for May 25 its judgment in the appeals in the Attappadi Madhu mob lynching case filed by the state govt, Madhu's mother Malli, and the convicts in the case.The bench of Justices V Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar directed the jail superintendent concerned to produce the 12 convicts, who are currently serving their sentences, before the court at 10.15am on May 25. HC also directed four other accused in the case — one currently on bail, two earlier acquitted by the trial court, and one who has already undergone the sentence imposed on him — to be personally present before it on the same day.Madhu, a tribal youth from Chindakki hamlet in Attappadi, was allegedly killed by a local mob after being accused of stealing food items from a grocery shop on Feb 22, 2018. According to prosecution, Madhu sustained head injuries and bruises all over his body, including broken ribs and internal bleeding. He reportedly collapsed and died while being taken to hospital. Sixteen accused were arrested in the case and faced trial before the SC/ST Special Court in Mannarkkad. Of them, the trial court convicted 14 persons — Hussain, Marakkar, Shamsudheen, Radhakrishnan, Aboobacker, Sidhique, Ubaid, Najeeb, Jaijumon, Sajeev, Satheesh, Hareesh, Biju and Muneer — while acquitting two others, Aneesh and Abdul Kareem.Among the 14 convicts, 13 were sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, while Muneer was sentenced to three months' imprisonment and fined Rs 500 for assaulting the victim. Subsequently, the state govt and Malli approached HC challenging the quantum of punishment awarded to the convicts as well as the acquittal of the two accused. The convicts also filed separate appeals challenging their convictions.The trial was marked by controversy, with as many as 24 prosecution witnesses reportedly turning hostile. The trial court had also dropped the murder charge and instead convicted the accused under Section 304(II) of the IPC, relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. This led to the filing of appeals by the state govt and the mother of the deceased.