Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 28 — The trial in the sensational 2015 Kerala Assembly ruckus case is finally set to begin on November 3, with the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court fixing the date on Monday, more than 11 years after the confrontation that shook the state's legislature.
The case involves six prominent LDF leaders who were in the Opposition when the incident occurred -- V. Sivankutty, E.P. Jayarajan, K.T. Jaleel, K. Ajith, C.K. Sadasivan, and K. Kunhammed Master.
The trial date marks a significant turn in a case that has remained entangled in political and legal battles for years.
The LDF government, after coming to power in 2016, had sought withdrawal of the case against its leaders.
The move was rejected by the trial court and the High Court, before the state approached the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court too refused to permit withdrawal, making it clear that legislative privilege could not be invoked to obtain immunity from criminal prosecution for alleged destruction of public property.
The case dates back to March 13, 2015, when LDF members launched a massive protest inside the Assembly to prevent then Finance Minister K.M. Mani from presenting the Budget.
The prosecution alleges that the Speaker's dais was damaged and computers, microphones, chairs and other equipment were destroyed.
The loss to public property was assessed at around Rs 2.20 lakh.
The prosecution case was registered under provisions dealing with criminal trespass, mischief causing damage, and destruction of public property.
The six accused had sought discharge from the case, but the Chief Judicial Magistrate rejected their pleas, finding sufficient material to frame charges.
The Kerala High Court later declined to stay the trial and directed the accused to face the proceedings.
None of the six is currently a legislator. Sivankutty and Jaleel, who were members of the Assembly when the case began, have since held ministerial positions, but both lost the recent Assembly polls.
Ajith, then a CPI legislator, subsequently joined the BJP and contested the 2026 Assembly election unsuccessfully.
The case had also acquired a political counterpoint during the intervening years, with a separate case pursued against UDF leaders over alleged incidents during the same Assembly confrontation.
That case had been cited by the UDF as an attempt to dilute the principal case against the LDF leaders.
With that political backdrop now largely receding, the original case is set to enter its long-delayed trial phase.
The November 3 proceedings will thus mark the first substantive step towards determining criminal liability for an episode that has remained a political flashpoint in Kerala for more than a decade.
The biggest irony is that Mani’s party, now led by his son Jose K. Mani, is the third biggest constituent of the Left alliance. After Mani’s death, Jose took the party into the Left fold just ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls.