Life sentence of 12 set aside in Marad riot case

Kochi: The Kerala High Court Friday set aside the conviction and life sentence of 12 accused in a case relating to riot, which had occurred in Marad near Kozhikode in 2002, but upheld the same punishment for two.

A bench, comprising Justice C T Ravi Kumar and K P Jyothindranath, set aside the conviction and sentence of 12 accused in the incident which relates to the murder of one Abubacker.

The Marad Special Court had sentenced 14 convicts finding them guilty.

The High Court, after evaluating the evidence, found that the prosecution did not satisfactorily prove the guilt of 12 accused and set aside their conviction.

However, life sentence of fourth accused Shaji and 12th accused Sasi--both from Marad--were upheld.