A special court has refused to remove the special public prosecutor in the case relating to the lynching of tribal youth Madhu of Attappady in Kerala's Palakkad district.
The Mannarkad SC/ST(POA) Special Court on Tuesday rejected the plea filed by Madhu's mother Malli seeking to replace special public prosecutor C Rajendran with another lawyer. Madhu's family wants additional special prosecutor Rajesh M Menon to take up the case. With the lower court rejecting their plea, Madhu's sister Sarasu said they will approach the Kerala High Court with the plea.
The court said the trial of the witnesses in the case will resume on June 20 with the current prosecutor unless the High Court stays the proceedings or the state government issues an order removing the senior lawyer before that date.
Malli has filed a complaint with the director general of prosecution with the request to remove Rajendran from the case.
Rajendran is the third public prosecutor handling the case after two senior lawyers opted out of the case. While the first special public prosecutor appointed by the government refused to take up the case the second prosecutor V T Raghunath stepped aside citing his poor health. Lawyers Rajendran and Menon were appointed in February at a time when the trial had hit a roadblock.
Even if the High Court and the government allows Rajendran to continue as the special prosecutor in the case, it is likely to affect the trial with the family of the victim remaining hostile to him. The family's move against Rajendran and the demand to hand over the case to his colleague have exposed the rift within the prosecution team. This raises serious concerns about the outcome of the trial in the case that shocked Kerala.
Madhu's family lost hope in the ongoing trial after two prosecution witnesses turned hostile in the first three days of the trial.
"The witness trial in connection with the murder of my son Madhu began in the Mannarkad SC/ST(POA) Special Court on June 8. We witnessed the entire trial of two witnesses, Unnikrishnan and Chandran, on those days. From observing the trial procedures of advocate C Rajendran, the special prosecutor who was appointed as per our request, we felt that he is inexperienced in conducting trials in trial courts.
Moreover, the defence lawyers also succeeded in turning Unnikrishnan and Chandran hostile. We have also come to know that the former investigation officer, the police-in-charge at the court, has filed a report to the Palakkad superintendent of police saying the trial has not been satisfactory," Malli writes in her complaint to the chief minister and other top state authorities.
Malli filed the complaint with the support of activist V M Marsen, who is the convener of the Walayar Neethi Samara Samithi which fights for justice to the two Dalit girls who were found dead in the border village.
Madhu was allegedly beaten to death by a mob at Attappady on February 22, 2018. He was tied up and beaten by a mob, who caught him from a nearby forest, accusing him of serial thefts. The police have submitted a 3,000-page charge sheet before the court. There are 122 witnesses in the case.
Read an exclusive series of ground reports by Onmanorama's G Ragesh, published immediately after the lynching of Madhu:
Part I: 500 more Madhus waiting to happen in Attappadi?
Part II: Madhu the myth: Caveman to Maoist!
Part III: Was Madhu hunted down and killed?
