The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday sentenced four brothers to life imprisonment in a 2015 murder case in Tirunelveli district.
The court was hearing the appeal filed by Mariammal, the mother of the deceased Ponniah of Theneerkulam near Thatchanallur. Palayamkottai police registered a case against four brothers: Sakthivel, Esakkimuthu alias Kumar, Samadurai alias Chinnadurai and Marimuthu alias Mari for the murder of Ponniah.
All of them were autorickshaw drivers of the same locality. There was some previous enmity between the brothers and Ponniah regarding parking of autorickshaws in a particular place. The Fourth Additional Sessions Court in Tirunelveli acquitted the accused. Challenging the trial court judgment, the appeal was filed.
A Division Bench of Justices P. Velmurugan and R. Poornima observed that a reading of the trial court judgment would show that much importance was given only to certain contradictions and discrepancies.
The court observed that it is a settled proposition of law that mere defect in investigation is not a sole ground for acquitting the accused.
When the witnesses have clearly spoken about the overt act and also the motive with specific corroboration, the trial court ought to have considered the materials.
From the evidence it is clear that due to previous motive, the accused waylaid the deceased with an intention to cause his death. They attacked him brutally with deadly weapons and committed offences under various Sections of IPC, including murder, the court observed.
Reversing the trial court judgment, the court sentenced the four brothers to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹2,500 each.