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Sets Final Four Month Deadline For Abhimanyu Murder Trial Completion Today
The has issued a stern directive to the , mandating the conclusion of the 2018 murder trial of leader M. Abhimanyu within four months. Dr. Justice Kauser Edappagath, presiding over the case, clarified that no further extensions will be granted, emphasizing the need for finality in a case that has languished for over seven years.
A Long Road to Justice
The case stems from the tragic incident on , when 21-year-old Abhimanyu, a B.Sc. Chemistry student and SFI unit secretary at Maharajas College, Kochi, was fatally stabbed. The prosecution alleges that activists from the , linked to the then-unbanned and the , orchestrated the attack following a dispute over campus posters. Four other students also sustained serious injuries during the confrontation.
Despite the filing of a by the in , the trial faced repeated, significant setbacks. These included the disappearance of 11 original court documents—which necessitated a complex reconstruction process—and delays caused by the presiding judge’s involvement in other high-profile matters, alongside subsequent judicial transfers.
The Judicial Mandate
Bhoopathi, the mother of the deceased, moved the High Court in , citing the agonizingly slow pace of justice. While the High Court previously directed the sessions court to complete within nine months in , that deadline lapsed without the trial reaching a conclusion.
In the latest order dated , the Court held:
"The learned Judge is directed to positively frame charge on and schedule the case for trial immediately. The case shall be disposed of within a period of four months from the date of ."
Current Procedural Standing
The trial court, now presided over by Judge KK Balakrishnan, has already made progress by formally framing charges against 16 accused individuals on . The accused, who have pleaded not guilty, face charges including murder (), , and . With 125 witnesses currently cited by the prosecution—many of whom are former students now scattered across the country or abroad—securing their presence remains a logistical hurdle for the trial court.
The High Court’s intervention comes shortly after it dismissed a from the accused, affirming that ongoing investigations into peripheral suspects do not justify delaying the primary trial. As the clock begins on the final four-month window, the legal system faces the critical test of balancing procedural rights with the for a in one of Kerala’s most sensitive campus violence cases.
