Published May 25, 2026 | 11:52 AM ⚊ Updated May 25, 2026 | 11:52 AM
Madhu
Synopsis: The Kerala High Court delivered its verdict in the Attappady Madhu lynching case, acquitting first accused Hussain while upholding convictions of 13 others. It maximised co-accused Muneer’s sentence from three months to a harsher term. The HC noted Hussain wasn’t among those who dragged Madhu out before the assault in 2018.
The Kerala High Court delivered its verdict in the Attappady Madhu mob lynching case, acquitting first accused Hussain while upholding the conviction of the 13 other accused.
In a notable development, the HC maximised the sentence awarded to the 16th accused, Muneer, while acquitting first accused Hussain and upholding the conviction of the remaining accused.
The accused are: Hussain, Marakkar, Shamsudheen, Aneesh, Radhakrishnan, Abubacker, Siddique, Ubaid, Najeeb, Jeyjuman, Abdul Karim, Sajeev, Satheesh, Harish, Biju, and Muneer.
The court was hearing appeals filed by the convicts seeking to overturn their sentences, along with petitions by Madhu’s family seeking harsher punishment.
Earlier, the Mannarkkad SC/ST Special Court had sentenced 13 accused to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed fines, while Muneer was awarded three months imprisonment and a fine of ₹500.
The fourth accused, Aneesh and the eleventh accused, Abdul Karim were originally acquitted by the special trial court in 2023 for lack of evidence.
The HC also noted that Hussain was not among those who allegedly brought Madhu out of the forest before the assault.
A Division Bench comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and KV Jayakumar had reserved the verdict last week and directed the accused to appear before the court on the day of the judgment.
The court rejected the appeals filed by 12 of the convicts. The court convene at 12.30 pm today to pronounce the judgment.
There were total 16 accused in the case. After the trial, accused numbers 4 and 11 were acquitted.
Also Read: Mob lynching in Kerala’s Kozhikode echoes the horror of Madhu’s death
Madhu, a tribal youth from Attappady in Palakkad died after being assaulted by a mob over allegations of stealing rice from a shop in February 2018.
The Special Court had convicted 14 of the 16 accused, while acquitting two others.
13 convicts were sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and fined while another accused received a three-month jail term in a separate offence.
The HC had earlier granted suspension of sentence to only one convict.
