Kochi: The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court on Monday expressed displeasure after all 16 accused in the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) leader Abhimanyu murder case failed to appear in person despite a specific direction issued by the court last week.

The accused persons have approached the court seeking exemption from personal appearance citing the presence of mediapersons in the courtroom. However, Principal Sessions Judge KK Balakrishnan rejected petitions filed by the accused through their lawyers seeking exemption from personal appearance and ordered all 16 to be present before the court without fail on August 13.

The court also took serious note of the accused defying its directive issued on August 6 to be present in the court on Monday.

The judge also directed that the order rejecting the exemption pleas be uploaded on Monday itself, after the defence sought an early upload to enable them to challenge it before the Kerala High Court.

Monday’s hearing was scheduled for framing an additional charge under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code (voluntarily causing hurt), which was recently added at the request of the prosecution. Special Public Prosecutor G Mohanraj, who appeared through video conference, argued that members of the unlawful assembly had assaulted witnesses during the July 2018 incident, warranting the inclusion of the additional charge.

During the hearing, counsel for the accused sought exemption from personal appearance, contending that the presence of media personnel outside the court posed safety and privacy concerns. The defence also produced a photograph in support of its claim.

The plea was strongly opposed by Advocate KS Arunkumar, appearing for Abhimanyu’s brother Parijith, the 18th prosecution witness. Arunkumar argued that the accused had consistently delayed the trial by avoiding personal appearance. He pointed out that since 2019, the case had been posted 45 times, but the accused had appeared in person only once when the court framed the primary charges on July 6.

He further submitted that the exemption plea was another attempt to stall the proceedings despite the High Court’s recent direction to conclude the trial within four months. The HC had issued the directive while considering a petition filed by Abhimanyu’s mother, Bhoopathy, seeking a time-bound trial after years of delay.

Abhimanyu, a 21-year-old second-year BSc Chemistry student at Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) unit secretary, was fatally stabbed on the night of July 2, 2018, during a clash over wall graffiti welcoming freshers. The confrontation allegedly involved SFI activists and members of the Campus Front of India (CFI), the student wing of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI).

Although the Special Investigation Team (SIT) filed the chargesheet in September 2018, the trial has remained stalled for years due to several factors, including the prolonged absconding of key accused, multiple interlocutory and discharge petitions filed by the defence, and the disappearance of crucial court records, including the original post-mortem report, chargesheet and witness statements, which later had to be reconstructed using certified copies produced by the prosecution.

On July 6 this year, all 16 accused pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, rioting, unlawful assembly, criminal intimidation and destruction of evidence, read out to them by the court.