KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday suspended the life imprisonment awarded to the convict in a murder case, so as to enable him to provide treatment to his ailing son. While suspending the sentence, the Division Bench comprising Justice K T Sankaran and Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan also granted bail to the petitioner for six months.
The court issued the order on a petition filed by Thomas, who is convicted of murdering Manoj Jospeh, a police constable. Thomas’s wife was also an accused in the case, but was acquitted by the Additional Sessions Court, Thodupuzha. According to the prosecution, Thomas’s wife had been running a help-desk, in which Manoj was a partner. The accused conspired to do away with Major due to a business rivalry. The accused set Manoj on fire after throwing inflammable substance on him, and also stabbed him to ensure his death. The Sessions Court awarded life imprisonment to Thomas, and imposed a fine of `50,000 on him. He has been lodged in the Poojappura Central Jail in Thiruvananthapuram.
The petitioner submitted that his son is afflicted with a rare disease called duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The Bench held that the court was granting bail to the petitioner considering the disability of his son. The bail was granted on condition that the petitioner execute a bond of `25,000 before the Sessions Court. “The petitioner should surrender before Superintendent of the Poojappura Central Jail before expiry of the six-month bail period,” the court held.