KOCHI: The death sentence awarded to Chenthamara in the Nenmara double murder case has taken the number of death row convicts lodged in Kerala’s prisons to 38. However, executions remain a rarity in the state, with the last hanging carried out over three decades ago.
Prison authorities said death row inmates are currently lodged in Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur, Viyyur and Thavannur central and other high-security prisons. Three women sentenced to death are housed at Thiruvananthapuram Women’s Prison.
“Except for certain privileges, death row convicts are generally treated like other life convicts,” a senior prison official told TNIE.
The sentence awarded by a trial court, however, is not final. As per law, every death sentence awarded by a trial court must be referred to the High Court for confirmation through a death sentence reference (DSR).
Advocate C P Udayabhanu said the HC simultaneously hears the DSR and the appeal filed by the convict. “The High Court examines whether the conviction is legally sustainable and whether the sentence imposed is justified.
If it finds sufficient grounds for awarding the maximum punishment, it confirms both the conviction and sentence. It can also acquit the accused, modify the conviction or commute the sentence,” he said.
Legal experts said many death sentences awarded by trial courts are either commuted or set aside during the appellate process. According to Udayabhanu, trial courts can sometimes be influenced by the brutality of the crime, the nature of injuries inflicted and the suffering caused to the victims’ families, factors that are later reassessed by appellate courts on settled legal principles.
Former state police chief Jacob Punnoose said there is no precise legal definition of the “rarest of rare” doctrine, which governs the award of capital punishment.
“A sessions judge tries numerous murder cases. The court considers factors such as whether the crime was premeditated or conspiratorial, whether there was prior planning, the degree of cruelty involved and the circumstances in which the intention to kill arose. These are among the factors weighed while deciding whether a case warrants the death penalty,” he said.
Quick look
Three Women on death row
Last execution in Kerala: 1991 (Ripper Chandran)
Every death sentence by trial court must be confirmed by HC
Since 2000, only a small number of death sentences have ultimately been confirmed by higher courts
18 months in making...
January 27, 2025: Sudhakaran, 55, and his mother Lakshmi, 75, are hacked to death outside their house at Boyan Colony in Nenmara. The accused, Chenthamara, was out on parole after being awarded life imprisonment for the 2019 murder of Sudhakaran’s wife Sajitha.
January 28: Police arrest Chenthamara around from a paddy field near the forest area in Mattayi, where he had been hiding.
March 3: Statements of key prosecution witnesses recorded before Chittur Judicial First Class Magistrate Court.
March 25: The investigation team files 480-page chargesheet, citing 182 witnesses, over 30 documentary exhibits, forensic reports and scientific evidence. The trial commenced thereafter, with the prosecution presenting its evidence before the court.
July 13, 2026: After nearly 18 months of legal proceedings, the Palakkad Additional District and Sessions Court finds Chenthamara guilty of the double murder.
July 13: Court sentences Chenthamara to death, subject to confirmation by the High Court, and imposes a total fine of Rs 20 lakh to be paid as compensation to the victims’ relatives.