HC confirms life-term for three who murdered a history-sheeter

CHENNAI: A division bench of Madras High Court upheld the order of an additional session court in Chennai sentencing three accused to life-term imprisonment for murdering another history sheeter in a territorial dispute.

The bench of Justice PN Prakash and Justice N Anand Venkatesh passed the order on hearing a petition filed by the accused named Viji aka Vijayakumar, Appanaraj, and M Velu.

The accused prayed to set aside the order of the VIth additional sessions judge, Chennai sentencing the accused to undergo life imprisonment each with a fine amount of Rs.1000 each in default they shall undergo one-year rigorous imprisonment each.

According to the prosecution, the accused murdered one Sathyaraj near the high court in 2013 in enmity regarding the territorial war.

The main ground raised by the petitioner was that the first witness Fatima was the sister of the victim and the police should not have relied on her statement.

However, the judges rejected the submission saying that the evidence of the first witness/sister of the victim was strengthened by the evidence of the second witness, one spectacles shop owner.

"Therefore, the sessions judge has rightly come to the conclusion that the second accused and third accused have shared common intention as defined under Section 34 of IPC and further, the trial court has rightly come to the conclusion that the evidence of the first witness was duly corroborated by the second witness, even on the strength of Section 8 of the Indian Evidence Act, " the court established.

The court also pointed out the medical evidence of doctors and held that the order of conviction does not warrant any interference.