Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court while confirming life sentence imposed on a man from Theni district in a case of murder for gain modified the term of the sentence and revoked the three-month solitary confinement imposed by the trial court.
The court was hearing the appeal preferred in 2020 by N. Seenivasan of Theni district against the judgment of the Additional District and Sessions Court in Theni. The trial court had convicted him for the offences under Sections 379 (theft), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
The trial court sentenced him to three years imprisonment for the offence under Section 379, seven years imprisonment for the offence under Section 201 and life imprisonment for the offence under Section 302 of IPC. The court had ordered the sentence to run consecutively and further had ordered solitary confinement for a period of three months.
The case of the prosecution is that the convict, Seenivasan, and his accomplice Marichamy murdered Govindarajan, the owner of a photo studio, in 2013. They buried his body in a forest area and took away his belongings. The duo had placed a wig on the head and draped the body in a sari.
As the family members had lodged a man-missing complaint with the police, the duo approached the victim’s family members and told them that Govindrajan had murdered a woman and was in hiding. To keep the murder confidential, they demanded ₹60 lakh from the family. They claimed to have photo evidence about the murder in a memory card, which the family got hold of.
Through recovery mode, the police found a blurred image of a woman-like figure with a wig and a clear image of Seenivasan, following which the police nabbed the duo. But Marichamy died during the trial.
A Division Bench of Justices G. Jayachandran and Sunder Mohan observed that the evidence proves beyond doubt the role of accused in the crime. However, it does not warrant solitary confinement, as it is yet another case of murder for gain and destruction of evidence. The punishment should be proportionate to the severity of the offence.
Confirming the term of sentence for the offences under Sections 379, 201 and 302 of IPC and the fine amount imposed, the court modified the term of sentence as ‘concurrently’ instead of ‘consecutively.’ and revoked the three-month solitary confinement imposed by the trial court.
Published - February 09, 2023 09:05 pm IST
