The Kerala High Court on Monday acquitted one of the men accused in the Attappady lynching case, which concerns the death of a tribal man named Madhu in 2018 [Hussain v State of Kerala & Ors.]..A Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice KV Jayakumar set aside the conviction and sentence imposed on one Hussain, the first accused in the case.The High Court upheld the conviction of twelve others 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). The Court has dismissed their appeals in the matter. The Bench also confirmed the trial court's acquittal of two others accused, namely Anish (A4) and Abdul Karim (A11), whose acquittal had been challenged by the State..The case concerns the lynching of Madhu, a mentally challenged tribal youth from Attappady in Palakkad, who was allegedly 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. Notably, the 16th accused finished serving his three-month jail sentence while he was an undertrial prisoner. The trial court, therefore, ordered his release after its verdict was pronounced. .Appeals were later filed before the High Court. The thirteen convicts who were given seven-year jail terms sought acquittal. The State and Madhu's family sought an enhancement of their punishment and their conviction on a graver, murder charge. The acquittal of two accused was also challenged. .After today's High Court verdict, the accused who remain convicted in the case include 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 High Court has upheld the findings of a Special Court dealing with cases under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (SC/ST Act) in respect of these accused. These convicts were booked for the offences of unlawful assembly (Section 143), rioting (147), causing hurt (323), grievous hurt (326), wrongful confinement (342), and kidnapping or abduction with intent to cause grievous harm (367), read with common object (149).Notably, the High Court today also set aside the trial court's findings that certain provisions of the SC/ST Act were not attracted against several of the accused.It 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), and convicted him, accordingly enhancing his punishment.Orders on sentencing are expected later in the day..Further, the Court dismissed a challenge filed by the 16th accused, but modified his conviction, holding him guilty under Section 3(2)(va) of the SC/ST Act read with Section 323 IPC (voluntarily causing hurt)..[Read Live Coverage]
