The trial against Savad, the prime accused in the 2010 chopping of Kerala professor T J Joseph’s right palm, has begun at the Ernakulam Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court, reopening proceedings against the man accused of carrying out the attack after nearly 14 years on the run.
Special NIA Court judge P K Mohandas began the trial against Savad and his alleged associate Shafeer C on October 12. The court has scheduled the examination of 50 witnesses at the initial stage. So far, eight witnesses have been examined and 23 documents taken up as part of the proceedings. The trial is scheduled to resume on October 23.
The case dates back to July 4, 2010, when Joseph, then a Malayalam professor at Newman College in Thodupuzha, was attacked by a group of armed men at Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district while returning home with his family after attending Sunday Mass. The assailants allegedly intercepted his car, dragged him out and chopped off his right palm with an axe and other weapons. The group also allegedly hurled a country-made bomb before fleeing.
The attack was allegedly carried out in retaliation for a question paper Joseph had prepared for an internal examination for undergraduate students. A question in the paper, which became controversial in March 2010, was perceived by some as insulting to Prophet Mohammed. The controversy triggered protests and demands for action against the professor before the attack took place.
The incident drew national attention because of the brutality of the assault and the alleged religious motive behind it. Joseph survived, and doctors later reattached his severed palm. The case was initially investigated by Kerala Police before the NIA took over the probe.
The case proceeded through multiple rounds of trial as several accused were arrested or brought into the investigation at different stages. In the first phase, the NIA special court delivered its verdict in 2015, convicting 13 of the 31 accused who faced trial and acquitting 18.
In July 2023, a second phase of proceedings resulted in six more convictions, while five accused were acquitted. This brought the total number of convictions in the case to 19.
The Popular Front of India (PFI), whose members were accused of involvement in the conspiracy and attack, was banned by the Union government in 2022. The NIA had alleged that the attack was part of a larger conspiracy and invoked provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, along with other criminal laws.
However, Savad, identified by investigators as the person who chopped off Joseph’s palm, had remained absconding throughout the earlier proceedings. He was charge-sheeted in 2011, but investigators were unable to trace him for more than a decade.
The NIA arrested Savad in January 2024 from Beram in Mattannur, Kannur district. Investigators said he had allegedly been living under the assumed name Shajahan and working as a carpenter while evading arrest.
His arrest followed a prolonged search by the agency, which had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information leading to his capture. The arrest came after 19 other accused had already been convicted in the case, making the proceedings against Savad a significant remaining part of the prosecution.
The NIA subsequently arrested Shafeer C, who is accused of providing shelter and logistical assistance to Savad while he was on the run. According to the agency, Shafeer allegedly helped him obtain safe accommodation and work under a false identity, and provided other facilities at Chakkad and Mattannur in Kannur district from 2020 onwards.
In February 2025, the NIA announced that it had filed a charge sheet against Shafeer for allegedly harbouring the prime accused. The agency said its investigation had found that Shafeer knowingly sheltered Savad and helped him evade law enforcement.
The allegations against Savad and Shafeer are now being examined in the ongoing trial. The court’s examination of witnesses and documents will form part of the proceedings through which the prosecution seeks to establish the charges against them.