All 16 accused in Abhimanyu murder case skip court again; judge orders mandatory presence on Aug 13

Despite a directive from the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court in Kerala to appear in person on Monday, all 16 accused in the Abhimanyu murder case failed to turn up. The court summarily dismissed their petitions seeking to be represented through lawyers and ordered their personal appearance without fail on August 13, 2026.

During the previous hearing on August 6, Principal Sessions Judge K.K. Balakrishnan had expressed strong dissatisfaction over the continued absence of the accused. He directed them to appear on August 10 to hear an additional charge invoked at the instance of the prosecution. The Kerala High Court had last week directed that the trial be concluded within four months, acting on a petition filed by the victim’s mother, Bhoopathy.

The additional charge under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code (voluntarily causing hurt) was invoked on the plea of Special Public Prosecutor G. Mohanraj, who attended Monday’s proceedings online. The accused sought exemption from personal appearance, citing the presence of media personnel in the courtroom and even producing a photograph as evidence.

However, K.S. Arunkumar, the lawyer representing Abhimanyu’s brother Parijith, strongly opposed the plea. He pointed out that ever since the case was taken up in 2019, the accused had appeared in court only once during 45 postings — on July 6, 2026, when charges were read out. Arunkumar argued that the accused were seeking “privileges far beyond entitlement,” stressing that this was not a minor dispute but “a brutal murder case” in which the High Court had issued strict directions to complete the trial within four months.

The defence sought the uploading of the order rejecting their plea for exemption from personal appearance on Monday itself, to enable them to challenge it before the High Court. The court allowed the request. Arunkumar accused the defence of adopting delaying tactics.

All 16 accused had pleaded not guilty when charges were read out on July 6, 2026. They face charges of murder, causing hurt with dangerous weapons, criminal intimidation, destruction of evidence, rioting, and unlawful assembly.

Earlier, the court had dismissed discharge petitions filed by six of the accused, ruling that sufficient grounds existed to proceed. The plea of the first accused seeking the return of the chargesheet was also rejected.

Abhimanyu, a second-year B.Sc. Chemistry student and SFI unit secretary at Maharaja’s College, was allegedly fatally stabbed on July 2, 2018, during clashes between activists of the SFI and the Campus Front, the student wing of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI), reportedly following disputes over graffiti. His murder triggered widespread protests and reignited debate over political violence on college campuses.

Although the police filed the chargesheet in September 2018, the trial was repeatedly delayed due to petitions filed by the accused, the surrender and production of absconding individuals, and the reconstruction of missing court records. The gravest setback occurred when crucial documents — including the chargesheet, post-mortem report, and witness statements — were found missing from the court. Acting on directions from the Kerala High Court, the records were subsequently reconstructed using certified copies submitted by the prosecution.