Kerala Court Convicts 14 In Madhu Lynching Case, Acquits Two

The Special Court for SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Mannarkkad on Tuesday convicted 14 of the 16 persons accused in the Madhu Lynching Case.

The accused persons had been charged for tying up and brutally beating a tribal youth to death for stealing rice from a grocery shop in Attappady in Kerala in February 2018.

The quantum of the sentence will be pronounced by the Special Court on Wednesday. Two of the accused persons were acquitted by the Special Court.

The trial for the murder of the tribal youth began in 28th April 2022 and has been marred by controversies since then. During the course of the trial several witnessed turned hostile. The Special Court on 20th August 2022, had cancelled the bail granted to 12 of the 16 accused persons by the High Court for trying to influence witnesses. The Special Public Prosecutor, had applied for cancellation of bail alleging that several witnesses were turning hostile towards the prosecution in the course of the trial. Even though the cancellation of bail was challenged in the High Court again, the order of the Special Court was upheld.

On September 23, 2022, the High Court had also dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of one of the accused who had threatened the victim’s mother for proceeding with the trial. An FIR had been registered in Agali Police Station U/S 452, 506 (i), and195 A read with Section 34 of the IPC, and Section 3 (2)(v)(a) of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for threatening the mother of the victim. The FIR alleges that the accused trespassed into the house of victim's mother and threatened to murder her for proceeding with the trial pertaining to her son's death.