Madras High Court modifies death sentence of 2 accused to 30 years imprisonment

Chennai: The Madras high court has modified the death sentence awarded to two accused in a triple murder for a gain case in Namakkal district, to that of 30 years rigorous imprisonment.

Passing orders on a referred trial by the state government and the appeals filed by the accused Kamaraj and Elangovan, a division bench comprising Justices P.N. Prakash and C.V. Karthikeyan said the superintendents of central prisons, Trichy and Coimbatore, where Kamaraj and Elangovan were lodged from March 10, 2014, have sent individual reports to the effect that both the said prisoners did not involve themselves in any prison offence and that their conduct inside the prison was satisfactory, the bench added.

Pointing out that it was now placed with two weighing scales, the family of the two accused, where, there were three children who have a future, on the one hand and the family of the three deceased, on the other, where also, there was one young child who, as well, has a future, the bench said if Kamaraj and Elangovan were given capital punishment, then the three children of theirs would have to necessarily and possibly lead an uncertain future.

They have to live with the idea that an establishment called “judiciary” had thought it fit to impose capital punishment on their fathers. Leaving out to society, these three children would be more hazardous than leaving out to society the victim child who was surrounded by a family of doctors who can very well impress upon her, the value of human life, accepting that though her mother, her aunt and her grandmother were dead, the two men who have been found guilty were still alive and were being sufficiently punished not to enter into society to kill more people and be a danger to society. This controversy would impress upon her that sufficient restraints placed on the imposition of a life sentence of Kamaraj and Elangovan would actually be giving life to other innocent women who were left alone in their house and who would be possible targets of their venture, the bench added.