Thirty seven of the 54 ethnic Indians turned up in court on Thursday and claimed trial for participating in the unlawful assembly organised by Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

N Sivanathan, the lead counsel for the accused, said the remaining 17 were not aware of the court date as it was earlier fixed for another day, New Straits Times said.

Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, who headed the nine-member prosecution team, told the court that some 16 prosecution witnesses were expected to give evidence.

The next hearing has been set for March 3 by the court, which also allowed a joint trial for all the 54 accused.

Hindraf had organised a massive protest on November 25 last year against the alleged marginalisation of ethnic Indians. Over 20,000 people of the community participated in the assembly declared as illegal by the government.