Kerala High Court acquits first accused in Attappadi Madhu lynching case

Madhu, a 27-year-old tribal youth from Chindakki Ooru in Palakkad district, was lynched by a mob in February 2018 after being accused of stealing rice and grocery items from a shop.

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Monday acquitted the first accused in the 2018 Attappadi Madhu lynching case.

Madhu, a 27-year-old tribal youth from Chindakki Ooru in Attappadi in Palakkad district, was lynched by a mob in February 2018 after being accused of stealing rice and grocery items from a shop.

Images of the assault, including photographs of Madhu being held and humiliated by members of the mob, had triggered widespread outrage across Kerala.

A lawyer associated with the case said the High Court also partly allowed the appeal filed by the state against the other accused.

He said the court also enhanced the punishment awarded to the 16th accused.

The court set aside the conviction and sentence of the first accused, Hussain, after finding that the evidence against him was unreliable, the lawyer told reporters here.

He said Hussain was able to establish before the court that two witnesses who had identified him were not present at the scene of the incident.

Digital records produced before the court showed that the witnesses were elsewhere at the relevant time.

The bench also upheld the acquittal of the fourth and 11th accused, affirming the earlier finding of the Special Court for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Mannarkkad.

Of the 16 accused in the case, the Mannarkkad Special Court had, in April 2023, convicted 14 persons.

Thirteen accused were sentenced to seven years' rigorous imprisonment after the court found them guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other offences.

The 16th accused was awarded three months’ simple imprisonment and fined Rs 500, while the fourth and 11th accused were acquitted.

The state government later moved the High Court, contending that the punishment imposed by the trial court was inadequate considering the gravity of the crime.

The prosecution argued that the assault on Madhu was a "cruel and inhuman act" committed against an Adivasi man in an unprecedented manner and that the accused deserved the maximum punishment prescribed under law.

The state also challenged the trial court's decision to treat the offence as culpable homicide not amounting to murder rather than murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the prosecution, the oral, digital, scientific and medical evidence presented during the trial clearly established the offence beyond reasonable doubt and justified harsher punishment.

Ahead of delivering the verdict, the High Court had directed all the accused to appear before it on May 25.

The division bench also instructed jail authorities to produce the convicted accused currently serving their sentences, while directing those on bail to appear in person.