Kerala Assembly ruckus case: trial of top left leaders to begin on Nov 3

THE trial in the controversial 2015 Kerala Assembly ruckus case will begin on November 3, more than 11 years after the incident that created a major political uproar in the state.

The trial will be conducted before the Thiruvananthapuram Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court).

The first witness to be examined will be P. D. Sarangadharan, who was the Assembly Secretary at the time of the incident.

Other witnesses, including those connected with the copying of the Assembly's digital video recordings, are also expected to be examined.

The case stems from the dramatic scenes in the Kerala Assembly on March 13, 2015, when opposition LDF legislators protested against the presentation of the state Budget by then Finance Minister K. M. Mani.

The police case alleges that furniture and electronic equipment, including a chair, computers, microphones and electronic panels, were damaged during the commotion. The alleged loss to public property was assessed at ₹2,20,093.

Among the principal accused are V. Sivankutty, E. P. Jayarajan, K. T. Jaleel, K. Ajith, K. Kunhammed and C. K. Sadasivan, who were LDF legislators at the time of the incident. Sivankutty and Jayarajan later served as ministers in Kerala.

The case has remained in the courts for years. The then LDF government had sought withdrawal of the prosecution, but the plea was ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court in July 2021, which held that legislative privilege could not be invoked to shield alleged destruction of public property from criminal prosecution.

With the examination of witnesses scheduled to begin on November 3, the long-pending case is now set to enter the trial stage more than a decade after the Assembly witnessed the dramatic confrontation.