HC sets aside life sentence, acquits 7-member family of murder

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court (MHC) acquitted seven members from a family in a case of murder of an adjacent land-owner. The court also set aside the life sentence imposed by a trial court.

A division bench comprising Justices SS Sundar and Sunder Mohan heard the family’s appeal challenging the life sentence imposed for a murder charge.

“The conviction and life sentence imposed by the third additional sessions judge, Salem, is solely based on the evidence of interested witnesses. Hence it cannot be sustained,” wrote the bench. “The prosecution has not proved its case beyond all reasonable doubt and the conviction based on uncorroborated evidence and materials with unexplained contradictions in key witnesses, cannot be sustained.”

The prosecution stated that the accused Malligeswari and her family developed enmity with Venkatachalam (deceased), who owns a piece of land in between the lands of the accused, over the usage of a common well near their land at Thenkumari village, Salem. On October 25, 2015, all the accused including Malligeswari trespassed into his land and damaged the pipeline irrigation, stated the prosecution.

“When Venkatachalam tried to stop the accused, they attacked him with spears and iron rods. “They also attacked his wife Parameswari and seriously injured her. Then they dragged Venkatachalam and threw him into the well, which caused his death,” said the prosecution.

Based on the complaint filed by Parameswari, the police booked Malligeswari’s family under various charges including Section 307 of IPC. On July 2018, the trial court found all of 7 accused in the family guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

However, the MHC found glaring contradiction and material circumstances ignored by the trial court. The court observed that the investigation officer had not collected any blood-stained weapons from the crime scene.

“The statement of the doctor, who had conducted the post-mortem, also stated that the injuries found on Venkatachalam’s body were consistent with an accidental fall into the well, considering it’s 60 feet deep,” read the judgment. Further, the judge also wondered why the accused would throw the deceased into a well they own, especially since it could be traced to them.

In the absence of any explanation to the contradictions of material evidence, the High Court acquitted the family and set aside the life sentence as well.