# All 16 accused skip court in Abhimanyu murder case 2026-08-10T16:01:34+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet All 16 accused in the 2018 Abhimanyu murder case skipped personal appearance before the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court on Monday despite a court directive, The Hindu reports. The court dismissed their pleas to appear through lawyers and ordered them to appear in person on August 13. This is only the second time they have been asked to appear; the accused had previously appeared just once in 45 court postings, on July 6 when charges were read. The Kerala High Court has directed that the trial be concluded within four months. The accused face charges including murder and rioting. Abhimanyu, a college student, was stabbed to death during clashes between student groups in 2018. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Tags: Abhimanyu murder, accused, court case, Kerala, PFI, trial delay Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/all-16-accused-skip-court-in-abhimanyu-murder-case/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/all-16-accused-skip-court-in-abhimanyu-murder-case/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.