JUDGMENT :

PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA, J.

1. These appeals are directed against the judgment of the High Court of Kerala upholding the conviction of Accused Nos. 1-7, 9-12, 14, 16 and 18 under Sections 143, 147, 148 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860¹ [hereinafter referred to as ‘the IPC’] and Sections 3(2)(e) of Prevention of Damages to Public Property Act, 1984² [hereinafter referred to as ‘the PDPP Act’] read with Section 149 of the IPC. A sentence of four years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 10,000/- as imposed by the Trial Court³ [Additional District and Sessions Judge (Fast Track-1), Thiruvananthapuram in Case Nos. 302 of 2001, 1786 of 2001 and 1313 of 2002 dated 15.02.2006], was also upheld by the High Court.

2. Facts: The facts of the present case can be traced back to the year 2000 when the State of Kerala decided to delink pre-degree courses from colleges and start plus-two courses at the school level. There were protests against the implementation of the said policy. During one of the protests on 12.07.2000, it is alleged that the police officials were harsh and several protesters, including girl students, were injured. To avenge the police atrocity, it is alleged