ORDER :

This petition is filed under Section 407 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (“the Code” for the sake of brevity) with a prayer to transfer S.C.No. 461/2022 from the file of the Court of the Additional Sessions Judge - I, Mavelikkara to any other court in the State.

2. The grievance of the petitioner is that they reasonably apprehend that they will not get a fair trial if the Court of the Additional Sessions Judge - I, where the case is presently pending, is permitted to proceed with the case.

3. The contentions of the petitioners are as under :

The petitioners are the accused Nos. 1 to 15 in S.C.No. 461/2022 on the file of the Additional Sessions Judge, Mavelikkara. They are accused of having committed the murder of Adv. Renjith Sreenivasan, a practicing lawyer at Alappuzha. They face indictment for having committed offences punishable under Section 120B, 143, 147, 148, and 302 r/w. Section 149 of the IPC.

4. The circumstances highlighted by the petitioners to seek transfer of the proceedings are as under:

a) Though the case was posted for trial on 1.3.2023, certain prosecution records were not furnished to the accused, which include clone copies of CCTV footage, forensic re