Kochi | All accused in the case relating to the murder of SFI activist Abhimanyu appeared before the court here on Thursday following a directive issued by the Ernakulam District and Sessions Court.

Ernakulam District and Sessions Judge K K Balakrishnan had recently issued the directive after some of the accused, who are associated with the banned Islamist outfit Popular Front of India and its student organisation Campus Front of India, failed to appear before the court while it was considering scheduling the trial.

Abhimanyu, a BSc Chemistry student at Maharaja's College here and an activist of the CPI(M)'s student wing, the Students' Federation of India, was stabbed to death in July 2018.

The court issued the directive after the accused failed to appear during the previous two hearings.

On Thursday, the court read out an additional charge under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code, relating to voluntarily causing hurt, which was denied by all 16 accused.

The court posted the case for August 17.

Recently, the Kerala High Court directed that the trial in the case be completed within four months.

Earlier, charges had been framed against the accused for murder, causing hurt with dangerous weapons, criminal intimidation, destruction of evidence, rioting and unlawful assembly.

The prosecution later added the IPC Section 323 charge against them.

According to the prosecution, the murder was allegedly carried out by members of the Campus Front of India and the PFI following a dispute over graffiti allegedly painted by Abhimanyu to welcome freshers to the college.

16 accused, who are alleged to have been directly involved in the murder, are facing trial in the case.

A separate investigation is underway against nine others accused of harbouring the assailants.