HC reduces life-term to 10-yr rigorous imprisonment to duo

CHENNAI: A division bench of Justice PN Prakash and Justice RMT Teekaa Raman modified an order of a district sessions court sentencing life-term conviction to a duo on charges of murdering a man who opposed the convicts to dancing in a marriage function.

The HC has reduced the life sentence to 10-year rigorous imprisonment.

The bench passed the order on hearing a petition filed by Balaji, and Soundararajan, residents of Melamanjanur, Thandarampattu Taluk, Tiruvannamalai district.

The petitioner pleaded to set aside the order of the principal district and sessions judge dated March 2019 imposing the life jail term with each Rs.5000 penalty.

According to the petitioners, they did not murder the man named Gandhi with any motive and it was accidental.

"The occurrence said to have been taken place due to the wordy quarrel between the deceased and the accused/appellants herein, without any motive and without any intention, " the petitioner's counsels submitted.

Recording the submissions, the judges modified the order of the trial court and sentenced the accused to ten years of rigorous imprisonment.

The case of the petitioners was when they were dancing at a bridegroom procession party in October 2012, the deceased asked them to stop. A few days later, when they met the victim, they entered into an altercation and it resulted in the death of the victim.