Trial in Kerala Assembly ruckus case gets under way
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
LDF and UDF members engaged in a heated exchange in the Kerala Assembly on March 13, 2015. | Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO
The trial in the Kerala Assembly ruckus case of 2015 began at the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, nearly 11 years after the incident.
In a significant development on the opening day, a key witness, Shyama, a former assistant engineer, who was on duty in the Assembly at the time of the incident, identified all six accused, including former Ministers V. Sivankutty, E.P. Jayarajan and K.T. Jaleel, who were in the dock.
In her testimony, the witness told the court of having personally witnessed the former legislators damaging valuable electronic equipment inside the Assembly. The former employee also confirmed to have recorded footage from eight CCTV cameras installed inside the Assembly onto DVDs.
The discs presented before the court were identified as containing footage of the incident. These recordings are considered crucial evidence in the case.
Meanwhile, a dispute arose over the proposed testimony of the then Assembly Secretary, P.D. Sarangadharan, who is also the complainant and the first witness in the case. He had requested permission to testify online, citing his inability to appear in person. The court is expected to decide on the matter at the next hearing.
Besides the three former Ministers, the other accused in the case are K. Ajith, C.K. Sadasivan and K. Kunhammad.
The incident took place on March 13, 2015, when Oommen Chandy was the Chief Minister of Keralam. Amid the bar bribery controversy that involved the then Finance Minister K.M. Mani, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) legislators staged a strong protest inside the Assembly and declared that they would not allow him to present the State Budget. The protest subsequently escalated into violent clashes.
According to the Crime Branch chargesheet, the Speaker’s dais was damaged. Computers, microphones, chairs and other electrical equipment were also allegedly destroyed during the incident, which resulted in damage to public property worth approximately ₹2.20 lakh.
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
