KOLLAM: The Kollam Additional Session Court on Tuesday awarded ten years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 12.55 lakh on S Kiran Kumar, 31, in the Vismaya case. Earlier, the court had pronounced the accused guilty of abetting his wife Vismaya's suicide.
Vismaya's mother Sajitha expressed resentment over the verdict. "He was to be awarded life imprisonment for the act he committed against my daughter. We will go for appeal in the higher court," she added.
Pronouncing the quantum of sentence, judge Sujith KN sentenced the accused to a ten-year term for the offence under IPC 304(B) (Dowry death). The court further awarded imprisonment for six years and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh under IPC 306 (Abetment to suicide) and an additional two years imprisonment and Rs 50,000 fine under IPC 498A (Dowry harassment).
For other sections under the Dowry Prohibition Act, he was awarded a six-year term and a Rs 10 lakh fine (section 3) and a one-year term and Rs 5000 fine (section 4). The sentence will run concurrently.
Of the total fine amount, Rs 2 lakh is to be shared with Vismaya's parents as compensation.
"Fully satisfied with the court verdict as he has been awarded the maximum punishment under all charges," said public prosecutor G Mohanraj. He will be serving the imprisonment punishment concurrently," he added.
Kiran requested the court to consider his age. Also, he is the lone support of his family. "My father is suffering from memory loss and he cannot take care of himself. I am innocent in this case and have done nothing wrong. Vismaya has committed suicide," said Kiran to the court.
However, the prosecution said the verdict should not be against an individual. Instead it should be a strong message to society. This should be used as a reference for others in future, said Mohanraj. "The convict is not a common man, he is a government employee. One who is bound to uphold the law was the one who broke it. Hence, this suicide case should be considered equivalent to murder," he added.
Meanwhile, the defence lawyer said Kiran should not be given life sentence as he has no criminal background. "Highlighting similar cases from other states, the defence lawyer said the maximum punishment pronounced by the Supreme Court in similar cases including a case in UP where a police officer murdered his wife is 10 years imprisonment," said Prathapa Chandran Pillai, who appeared for the accused.
Vismaya, a 24-year-old student of Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery, was found hanging in the bathroom of her husband’s house in Sasthamcotta on June 21 under mysterious circumstances after she had complained of dowry harassment.
The prosecution produced as many as 41 witnesses and 118 documents in the court during the trial.