Thiruvananthapuram: The trial in the politically contentious Kerala Assembly ruckus case is set to begin 11 years after the incident, with proceedings scheduled before the Thiruvananthapuram Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court.

The case has reached the trial stage after the accused pursued legal challenges, including before the Supreme Court. The incident took place on March 13, 2015, when then Finance Minister K M Mani was presenting the state Budget during the UDF government's tenure.

Two witnesses to be examined first

The first phase of the trial will focus on two witnesses, with their examination scheduled to begin on November 3.

They include PD Sharangadharan, who was the Assembly secretary at the time of the incident, and an engineer who captured the digital video recorder (DVR) containing footage of the proceedings.

The case relates to the disruption inside the Assembly as LDF legislators attempted to prevent Mani from presenting the Budget. The commotion included damage to public property and other disruptions, resulting in a case involving alleged loss to the public exchequer.

Leaders across parties among accused

Former minister V Sivankutty is among those named as an accused in the case. K Ajith, a CPI leader who was with the LDF at the time of the incident and is the first accused, is now associated with the BJP.

The accused currently have links to different political parties, including the BJP and CPI.

Advocate K Santhosh Kumar has been appointed as the special public prosecutor in the case. The proceedings will now determine the allegations made in connection with the Assembly violence and the evidence presented before the court.