Relief For Police Officer Couple In Kavin Honour Killing Case
Given the sensitivity of the case, the state government transferred the investigation to the CB-CID: Reports
MADURAI: The Madurai bench of the Madras high court on Tuesday quashed the chargesheet filed by the CB-CID against police officer couple K. Saravanan and S. Krishnakumari in the honour killing of 25-year-old Scheduled Caste IT employee C. Kavin Selvaganesh in Tirunelveli. Justice R. Vijayakumar passed the order on separate petitions filed by Saravanan and Krishnakumari. The court, however, dismissed a similar petition filed by Jeyapal, a relative of prime accused Surjith, seeking to quash the chargesheet against him.
Kavin, a software engineer from Arumugamangalam, near Eral, in Thoothukudi district, was hacked to death at KTC Nagar in Tirunelveli on July 27, 2025. Police alleged that he was killed over his relationship with S. Subhashini, a Siddha doctor from an intermediate caste. Based on CCTV footage, Tirunelveli city police identified Surjith, Subhashini’s brother, as the prime accused and arrested him.
Given the sensitivity of the case, the state government transferred the investigation to the CB-CID. It arrested Saravanan and Krishnakumari, both sub-inspectors of police, and Jeyapal, a stone quarry owner and relative of Surjith.
The CB-CID filed an 800-page chargesheet against the four accused in October 2025, citing statements from 83 witnesses, 19 documents, CCTV footage and forensic evidence. The accused were booked under various provisions, including murder and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
During the hearing on the petitions, the high court examined more than 20 CCTV recordings covering a 20 km stretch of the Tirunelveli-Sevalaperi national highway on the day of the murder. The court found that there was no strong material to establish that Saravanan and Krishnakumari had instigated their son to commit the murder or attempted to tamper with
evidence.
The court also found that the investigating agency had failed to establish its claim that Surjith had met his parents after the murder. It consequently quashed the chargesheet against Saravanan and Krishnakumari, while declining similar relief to Jeyapal.
