Trial in Kerala Assembly ruckus case gets under way
A key witness identifies all six accused, including former Ministers V. Sivankutty, E.P. Jayarajan and K.T. Jaleel, who were in the dock.
LDF and UDF members engaged in a heated exchange in the Kerala Assembly on March 13, 2015.
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.
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