Madurai bench of MHC commutes death sentence for four convicts in triple murder case

MADURAI: The Madurai bench of Madras High Court commuted the death sentence awarded to four convicts in a triple murder case to life imprisonment.

On June 1, 2012, Kaliraj, Venugopal and Murugan, who are from the Schedule Caste community, were brutally beaten to death. Thiruvengadam police had filed a case. In this connection, a final report was filed against 25 persons. Before the framing of charges two of them died.

For the remaining 23 accused, charges under sections 120B, 302, 148 of IPC and Section 3 (v) of Sc/ST (PoA) Act were framed and tried in the Special Court for PCR cases at Tirunelveli.

The II Additional District and Sessions Judge (PCR), Tirunelveli in his judgement dated September 26, 2024, held the charges against eleven, not proved beyond doubt and acquitted them.

However, the trial court imposed capital punishment on Ponnumani, Gurusamy, Kaliraj alias Thangaraj and Muthukrishnan subject to confirmation by the High Court. Order hanging by neck till their death after completion of sentences imposed for other offences.

The fine amount imposed was ordered to be paid equally to the legal heirs of the three victims.

The complaint disclosed previous enmity between the members of the scheduled caste community and members of the Yadava community at Udappankulam village, Tirunelveli district and as a consequence of the enmity, the members of the Yadava community conspired to kill two or three scheduled caste people of the village.

To prove the charges, the prosecution examined 23 witnesses, marking 56 exhibits and 24 material objects.

The trial court, without testing the veracity of the witnesses and the contradictions, had erred in convicting A-1 to A-9 for the offence under section 302 (three counts).

Therefore, a division bench comprising Justice G. Jayachandran and Justice R Poornima in its order set aside the conviction for want of evidence to prove existing dispute based on community conviction under Section 3(2)(v) of SC/ST Act.

The gravity of the offence is not a case for capital punishment. The parameters laid by the Supreme Court to impose a death sentence are not satisfied in this case. Hence, the capital sentence imposed on those four accused under Section 302 r/w 149 IPC is modified to a life sentence with a fine of Rs 1 lakh in default to undergo three years of rigorous imprisonment.