The mother of Attappady Madhu, a victim of mob lynching in 2018, will approach the High Court Chief Justice with a plea against the appointment of K.P. Satheesan as special public prosecutor in the case.
Madhu’s mother Malli said she would submit the appeal on Friday seeking to prevent Mr. Satheesan’s appointment made by the government without the concurrence of Madhu’s family and the action council spearheading the case.
Madhu’s family had demanded that lawyers Jeevesh, Rajesh M. Menon and C.K. Radhakrishnan be appointed special public prosecutors in the High Court to manage the case. The action council too had suggested these names.
Ms. Malli alleged here on Thursday that the government made the appointment at a time when her appeal for the appointment of the three lawyers was being heard by the High Court. She said she would seek the intervention of the High Court.
Mr. Satheesan is not acceptable for Madhu’s family and the action council obviously for the role he played in the sensational case of Walayar girls, which the CBI is re-investigating. He is reported to have opposed the appointment of Mr. Rajesh Menon as the public prosecutor as demanded by the Walayar girls’ mother.
The action council alleged here on Friday that the government had many things to hide in both Madhu and Walayar cases, and that was why the government unilaterally appointed Mr. Satheesan by ignoring the requests from Madhu’s mother.
The action council threatened to launch an agitation if the government did not appoint the lawyers suggested by Madhu’s mother as public prosecutors in the case.
The Special Court for SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Mannarkkad, which tried the case, had sentenced 13 people to seven years of rigorous imprisonment on April 5, 2023.
As many as 14 of the 16 accused were found guilty by the trial court under various sections of Indian Penal Code and the SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. When 13 of them were found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under IPC Section 304 (ii), one was found guilty of assault under IPC 352. Two accused were exonerated.
The judgment was delivered more than five years after Madhu, a 30-year-old tribal youth from Chindakki in Attappady, died after he was attacked by a gang alleging theft.
Madhu was captured from the forest, tied, beaten up and was brought to Mukkali, Attappady, on February 22, 2018. Although he was handed over to the police, Madhu died on the way to hospital.
The convicts have appealed the High Court against the verdict. The government is opposing this appeal and is seeking a more stringent punishment for them.
However, the action council alleged that the government was trying to help the convicts escape the punishment by appointing a special public prosecutor of its choice.
