NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, extended the stay on the execution of death penalty of Soumya murder case convict Govindachamy.
The court on Thursday asked the state government to present the documents related to the case.
Govindachamy had approached the court for commuting his death sentence awarded by the Thrissur Fast Track Court upheld by the Kerala High Court.
In his appeal, Govindachamy has said that the trial court had ordered the capital punishment without properly examining evidence.
The High Court had criticised the lukewarm response of the Railways and the attitude of fellow passengers of Soumya, who was returning home on a Shoranur-bound train from her workplace in Ernakulam, when the incident took place.
The Bench held that the attitude of fellow passengers was ‘disgustful’. Had they offered a helping hand, this untoward incident could have been avoided. There is a need to create awareness among the public to rise to the occasion. Inaction of fellow passengers was more painful than the brutal action of the accused, the judges had observed. The prosecution case was that Gonvidachamy had pushed the victim out of the compartment of the passenger train on February 1 after first trying to rob her. He then raped the seriously injured woman, who died on February 6.
The prosecution also pointed out that the Tamil Nadu native had already been convicted in eight cases in that state.
The Fast Track Court had held the brutal rape was one of the reasons for the victim’s death and that the nature of the crime was savage and had shocked society.