Palakkad: The High Court of Kerala has intervened over the inordinate delay in holding trial in the 2018 case regarding the lynching of tribal youth Madhu in Attapadi.
The high court has sought a report from the district judge asking whether the trial can be completed within a month.
The court also directed the district judge to apprise the progress of the case on a weekly basis.
The high court intervention came in the wake of widespread criticism over the delay in holding the trial by the Mannarkkad-based Special Court for SC/ST cases.
The Special Court has directed the Deputy Superintendent of Police who heads the Special Mobile Squad (SMS) meant for the Scheduled Tribes to submit a report containing details of the steps taken in connection with Madhu's case.
The Special Court has sought details including whether there is a special prosecutor for the case at the moment and whether there are any problems in taking forward the court proceedings.
Though further investigations were carried out to remove the anomalies in the chargesheet and a special prosecutor was also appointed, the steps to be taken before the trial could not be completed.
Madhu was beaten to death by a group of local people at Attappady in Palakkad in 2018.
