New Delhi: Sumathi, mother of rape-murder victim Soumya, moved the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking a review of the Sept. 15 verdict setting aside the death penalty awarded to convict Govindachamy by the trial court and confirmed by the HC. The Kerala government is also expected to file a review petition through Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi on Friday or the day after. A three-judge bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Prafulla C. Pant and Uday Lalit had confirmed the sentence of life imprisonment awarded to the convict for the brutal manner in which the rape was committed.
The Thrissur Fast Track Court had awarded death sentence to the accused for the incident that happened in February 2011. The prosecution case was that Govindachamy had raped Soumya in the compartment of the train after trying to rob her. He then pushed her out of the train and the injured woman died on February 6. Rejecting the murder charge, the apex court had said the vital fact that would require consideration is whether the accused is responsible for the injury which apparently was occasioned by the fall of the deceased from the running train.
However, it said so far as the injury is concerned, unless the fall from the train can be ascribed to the accused on the basis of the cogent and reliable evidence, meaning thereby that the accused had pushed the deceased out of the train and the possibility of the deceased herself jumping out of train is ruled out, the liability of the accused for the said injury may not necessarily follow. The judges said the intention of the accused in keeping the deceased in a supine position was for the purposes of the sexual assault and not murder.
In her review petition, Sumathi submitted that there was enough material evidence to warrant imposition of death penalty under IPC section 302 (murder). The apex court had erroneously set aside the murder charge as the prosecution had not highlighted certain crucial aspects. Pointing out that there has been a miscarriage of justice by not awarding death sentence in this brutal rape and murder, she prayed for review of the verdict and to restore the death sentence awarded by the trial court and confirmed by the High Court. She also prayed for oral hearing of the review petition in open court, as normally review petitions are decided by judges in their chamber.
