Prima facie evidence necessitates the continuation of criminal proceedings against the accused despite claims of falsehood.

ORDER

Dated this the 23^rd day of February, 2026 The petitioner who is the sole accused in S.C. No. 979 of 2025 on the file of the Additional Sessions Court, Alappuzha, arising out of Crime No. 2798 of 2018 of Kayamkulam police station. The offences alleged against the petitioner are under Sections 323 and 324 r/w 34 of the IPC .

2. The prosecution case is that, due to enmity of the petitioner and four other Children in Conflict with law (CCL), who were the students of MSM Higher Secondary School, Kayamkulam, as the defacto complainant did not obey the direction to remove his black inner wear, voluntarily caused hurt to him by beating with a plastic dustbin bucket on his head and forcefully removed his black innerwear and thereby they are alleged to have committed the aforesaid offences.

3. According to the learned counsel for the petitioner, as per the prosecution case, altogether five persons were involved in the commission of the offences, but the final report has been filed only against the petitioner. Further according to the learned counsel for the petitioner, this is a false case foisted against the petitioner. Therefore he prayed for quashing all further proceedings against the petitioner.

4. The petition was strongly opposed by the learned Public Prosecutor as well as by the learned counsel for the 2^nd respondent/ defacto complainant.

5. The learned Public Prosecutor submitted that, in the final report it is stated that since the other four assailants are CCLs, a separate charge will be filed against them before the Juvenile Justice Board. Since in the final report itself it is stated that a separate charge will be filed against the four CCLs before the Juvenile Justice Board, there is no merit in the contentions raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the other assailants were not proceeded against.

6. On a perusal of the FI statement, it can be seen that there is a specific allegation that the five students studying in the Plus Two course together attacked the defacto complainant using a plastic dustbin and caused injury to him solely for the reason that he was wearing a black innerwear. Since the allegations revealed against the petitioner prima facie make out the offences as alleged, the prayer for quashing the proceedings against the petitioner is liable to be rejected.

In the result, this Crl.M.C. is dismissed.

Sd/-