HC upholds life sentence

Man sentenced for murdering a 16-year-old-girl in 2009

The Madras High Court Bench here has upheld the life sentence awarded by a trial court to a man who murdered a 16-year-old-girl in 2009, after she rejected his sexual advances.

The petitioner, Mani, had filed an appeal challenging the order of the Additional Sessions Court in Periyakulam sentencing him to undergo life imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, Mani, a resident of Kadapparaikuzhi in Kodaikanal, had made repeated sexual advances to Rajeswari, his relative. He had made inappropriate advances towards the girl in 2004 as well.

The prosecution had held that on April 30, 2009, Mani visited Rajeswari’s house and attempted to sexually molest her in the presence of the girl’s mother. When Rajeswari resisted his attempts, Mani assaulted her with a billhook, resulting in her death, the prosecution claimed. Mani fled the spot and Rajeswari’s mother, along with her neighbours, took the injured teenager to Sothuparai.

However, the girl died on the way, the prosecution alleged.

In his appeal, Mani pleaded innocence contending that the witnesses in the case, who were his relatives, gave false statements that he had killed the girl as they wanted to wreak vengeance against him because of a family dispute. The prosecution did not examine any witness to establish that Mani had made sexual advances towards Rajeswari in 2004, contended his counsel G. Dhanalakshmi.

Dismissing the contentions of the defence counsel, a Division Bench comprising Justices S. Rajeswaran and T. Mathivanan ruled that the defence counsel failed to establish that the witnesses gave statements against Mani to wreak vengeance against him. The judges admitted the contentions of C. Ramesh, additional public prosecutor, that there was no necessity to examine any witness to establish that Mani had attempted to sexually assault Rajeswari in 2004 or any other occasion because the mother of the teenager was witness to the murder.

In their judgment, the judges ruled that the ‘atrocious and gruesome act’ of Mani came under the purview of Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and that the conviction awarded by the trial court was valid.