Abhimanyu murder trial begins: All 16 accused appear with identical haircuts, covered faces; court issues stern warning

Kochi: The trial in the 2018 Abhimanyu murder case began before the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court on Thursday, with all 16 accused appearing in identical clothing, caps, hairstyles and face-covering masks, prompting the judge to direct them to uncover their faces and warn against attempts to disguise their identities.

Principal Sessions Judge K K Balakrishnan directed the accused to remove their masks immediately upon entering the courtroom, making it clear that they could not appear before the court with their faces covered. The judge also warned that strict action would be taken if they attempted to alter their appearances or disguise themselves during future hearings or cross-examination.

The trial commenced more than eight years after Abhimanyu, a second-year B.Sc. Chemistry student at Maharaja’s College and a leader of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), was fatally stabbed on the campus on July 2, 2018. The chargesheet filed that year implicated activists of the Campus Front of India (CFI), the student wing of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), following clashes over wall graffiti.

On Thursday, Special Public Prosecutor G Mohanraj conducted the direct examination of the prosecution’s first eyewitness, Subin, a fellow student of Maharaja’s College who was present with Abhimanyu during the attack.

Testifying before the court, Subin pointed out that the accused had cropped their hair and trimmed their beards in an identical manner. However, he proceeded to identify the accused, including key suspects and the person alleged to have delivered the fatal stab.

Subin told the court that his identification was consistent with his earlier statements to the police and the identification made during the Test Identification Parade conducted before the Tahsildar. However, he stated that he could not identify three of the accused present in the courtroom.

Earlier on Wednesday, a lawyer representing the accused filed a petition seeking to defer the cross-examination of all seven eyewitnesses until the direct examination of all seven was completed.

The defence argued that cross-examining the witnesses individually could allow those yet to testify to be tutored based on the questions raised during the cross-examination of earlier witnesses.

The prosecution and the counsel representing Abhimanyu’s family opposed the application. Special Public Prosecutor Mohanraj and Advocate K S Arunkumar, appearing on behalf of the family, including Abhimanyu’s brother Parijith, the 18th prosecution witness, argued that postponing cross-examination could prejudice the proceedings.

They submitted that the delay would give the accused an opportunity to further alter their physical appearances, evade identification and potentially influence witnesses.

The court directed the prosecution to file its written objections to the defence petition by 3 pm on Thursday.

The trial is proceeding according to a schedule fixed by the court in compliance with a Kerala High Court directive issued in July. The High Court had ordered that the proceedings be completed within four months following a petition filed by Abhimanyu’s mother, Bhoopathy.

On September 22, the sessions court had rejected an application filed by 13 of the accused seeking in-camera proceedings, allowing the trial to proceed in open court.

The examination of witnesses will continue on Friday, with the deposition of the second eyewitness, Arjun. According to the schedule fixed by the court, witness examinations are to be held on consecutive working days until November 12.