Nava Kerala Yatra assault: Gunmen’s bail plea verdict on Tuesday

Kottayam: The verdict on the bail plea of the accused in the Nava Kerala Yatra assault case will be delivered on Tuesday.

On Saturday, the arguments and counterarguments from both sides on the bail plea lasted for two hours in the court of district sessions judge Honey M Varghese. The defence informed that more evidence is yet to be produced. If the defence has evidence, it can be submitted on Monday. A copy of this should also be given to the prosecution and the plaintiff side. The verdict will be delivered on Tuesday only after examining this as well, the court said.

The plaintiff side and prosecution together produced four video footages of the leaders being assaulted before judge Honey Varghese. Along with this, the court also examined the video footage taken by the police photographer.

The plaintiff side’s lawyer said that the leaders only chanted ‘Youth Congress Zindabad’ at that time, that it was part of the protest, and that they were beaten up without any provocation.

The court again raised the contradiction in imposing Section 308, which includes attempt to murder, against the accused. This section was not in the first report submitted to the court. However, within an hour, the SIT submitted a new report adding Section 308. This is not in accordance with legal procedures.

The court also criticized the news of the SIT submitting a new comprehensive report appearing in the media before the arguments took place on Saturday. The details of the investigation should be given to the court. In this matter, the court reprimanded both the special investigation team and the prosecution.