Overview
- The Additional District and Sessions Court III in Mavelikkara, presided over by Judge P. P. Pooja, acquitted all 19 defendants who stood trial, out of 20 originally charge‑sheeted including one minor.
- Vishal, a 19-year-old ABVP activist, suffered fatal stab injuries during a July 16, 2012 incident near Christian College in Chengannur and died the next day in hospital, with two fellow ABVP members also injured.
- Prosecutors alleged the attackers were linked to Campus Front, but the court concluded the evidence did not meet the threshold for conviction.
- Several key witnesses, including SFI and KSU activists, changed or retracted testimony during the protracted proceedings, and the investigation had moved from local police to the Crime Branch.
- ABVP and the prosecution say they will challenge the verdict in higher courts, while defence counsel argues the case was fabricated and centered on a single alleged stab by one accused.