Overview
- The Kerala High Court, on Tuesday August 18, 2026, quashed criminal proceedings against M.A. Vaheed (Wahid), Dominic Presentation, K. Sivadasan Nair and A.T. George in complaints filed by two former LDF women MLAs.
- Justice C.S. Dias found the alleged acts did not meet the legal ingredients of Sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 354 (assault on a woman with intent to outrage modesty) of the Indian Penal Code and set aside an earlier magistrate order that had sent the four to trial.
- The court said its decision rests on legal insufficiency—that the allegations, even if accepted, do not constitute the charged offences—rather than a factual finding of innocence.
- The quashing removes a politically sensitive counter-case lodged by Jameela Prakasham and K.K. Lathika but leaves the main public‑property destruction case arising from the March 13, 2015 Assembly ruckus against several prominent LDF leaders to proceed.
- The ruling reshapes the litigation balance in the long-running dispute by eliminating the counter-complaint that had been used as leverage against the UDF, and it could affect options such as requests for a joint trial or further appeals in the remaining public‑property matter.