Palakkad (Kerala), Aug 20 (PTI) A court here on Saturday cancelled the bail of 12 accused in the case of killing of a tribal man in the district for allegedly stealing food articles in 2018, observing that any further delay in doing so would give room for influencing the remaining witnesses in the case.

The Special Court for trial of offences under the SC/ST Act ordered the cancellation, accepting the prosecution's argument that under the influence of the accused, several witnesses had turned hostile during the ongoing trial.

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In its order, the court said on the evaluation of the entire materials brought before it by the prosecution, it came to the conclusion that the accused have influenced the witnesses and attempted to challenge rather dictate the whole criminal administrative system of the country.

"That can never be encouraged in a country wherein the rule of law prevails. Any attempt from anyone else whether it is the accused, witnesses or victim to challenge the rule of law is to be seriously dealt with else it will cause eroding of public faith in the judicial system which ultimately will result in complete collapse of the whole judicial system," Special Court judge K M Retheesh Kumar said in the order.

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In the order, the court further said counsel for the six of the accused cautioned it against the possible consequences that may ensue on cancellation of bail granted by the Kerala High Court, such as answering of charge memo that may be issued and publication of bad news in media along with photographs of the judge, among others.

"I believe that the High Court will never unnecessarily harass subordinate officers if the order is supported by valid reasons. Apart from all these, every judicial officer is expected to discharge his duties without fear of favour. Therefore, it is not necessary to discuss much about the anxiety expressed by the counsel," the judge said.

Talking to reporters, special public prosecutor Rajesh M Menon said the prosecution could establish before the court the reason for the witnesses turning hostile en masse under the influence of the accused.

"The prosecution could convince the court of the prevailing rarest of the rare situation in the case. We prayed for the cancellation of the bail of 12 accused. The court admitted it," Menon said.

Expressing happiness over the court's decision, the mother of the tribal man Madhu thanked the prosecution for ensuring justice.

Madhu from Attappady was killed after he was caught, tied and thrashed by a group of local people alleging theft on February 22, 2018.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)