The Kerala High Court on Monday enhanced the prison sentence imposed on twelve men convicted in the 2018 Attappady lynching case, ordering that they undergo life imprisonment [Hussain v State of Kerala & Ors.]..A Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice KV Jayakumar also acquitted one of the accused men, the first accused named Hussain..The case concerns the lynching of Madhu, a mentally challenged tribal youth from Attappady in Palakkad, who was tied up and brutally beaten to death by a mob in February 2018 after being accused of stealing rice from a grocery shop. The prosecution argued that the accused had caught him from a nearby forest and had subjected him to a sustained assault.In April 2023, a Special Court for SC/ST Act cases convicted fourteen out of the sixteen accused in the case.Thirteen of these accused were convicted for serious offences, and one - the 16th accused - was given a three-month jail sentence for a relatively less serious offence..The High Court today upheld the conviction of twelve men for various serious offences, including under Sections 304 (causing death by negligence) and 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and their conviction under the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Caste (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act).These twelve convicts are Marakkar (A2), Shamsudheen (A3), Radhakrishnan (A5), Aboobacker (A6), Sidhique (A7), Ubaid (A8), Najeeb (A9), Jaijumon (A10), Sajeev (A12), Satheesh (A13), Hareesh (A14) and Biju (A15).The Court proceeded to enhance their sentence to life imprisonment. The Bench further acquitted one person, and confirmed the trial court's acquittal of two others, namely Anish (A4) and Abdul Karim (A11)..Moreover, the Court has enhanced the sentence of Muneer, the 16th accused who had earlier been given a three-month sentence by the trial court. His criminal charge and sentence were modified by the Court today. The Court held that offences under Sections 3(2)(v) (committing an offence on a person knowing they belong to SC/ST) and 3(2)(va) (enhanced punishment for offences against SC/ST persons) were made out against Muneer (A16). Accordingly, his punishment was enhanced.He has now been sentenced to one year of imprisonment for the offence under Section 323 IPC read with Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST Act..The Court added that if fines imposed on the convicts are recovered, ₹30 lakhs of the amount must go to the victim's mother. The remaining amount may be paid to any other legal heirs, if there are any. If there are no other legal heirs, that remaining amount shall also be paid to the mother, the Court said. Further, it ordered that compensation earlier directed to be paid by a sessions court to the victim's mother must be given within three months, if not already done. .Note: The article has been updated to reflect the order passed by the Court later in the day on the modified sentence imposed on the convicted men..[Read Judgment].[Read Live Coverage]
