Kottayam: The principal sessions court here will pronounce the verdict in the Kevin murder case on August 14 with the completion of the trial in a record time of just over three months.
The final trial will be completed on Thursday with the court permitting the special prosecutor and the counsel of the accused to clarify their earlier arguments. Sessions judge C. Jayachandran posted the case for pronouncing the verdict on August 14.
The trial began on April 24 with the examination of 113 witnesses out of 186. This was followed by the examination of the accused from June 29, which was completed by July first week.
The court did not consider any other case during the period which helped expedite the proceedings.
A special court here last year had directed to fast-track the case so as to complete the proceedings within six months.
As per the case, a gang led by Syanu Chacko, brother of Neenu, abducted Kevin, her husband, from Gandhi Nagar to Thenmala and chased him to a stream at Chaliyakkara, near Thenmala, with an intention to kill him on May 28, 2018 .
Two days before his death, Kevin and Neenu had filed a joint application for marriage. While Neenu was sent to a hostel thereafter, Kevin shifted to the residence of Aneesh, one of his relatives. Though the duo was abducted from there, Aneesh was let off later.
There are 14 accused in the case and based on a preliminary hearing, the court framed charges against all, including Neenu's father Chacko John and brother Syanu Chacko under 10 sections, including murder.
The Special Investigation Team which probed the case listed the murder as a case of honour killing.
