KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment without remission (early release) for 20 years to nine accused in the murder of RMP leader TP Chandrasekharan on May 4, 2012. The convicts sentenced on these terms are: first to eighth accused M C Anoop, Manoj Kumar alias Kirmani Manoj, N K Sunil Kumar alias Kodi Suni, Rajeesh Thundikandi, K K Mohammed Shafi, Sijith alias Annan Sijith, K Shinoj and K C Ramachandran, the then CPM Kunnummakkara local committee member, and 11th accused Manojan alias Trouser Manojan, former CPM Kadungapoyil branch secretary.
“The barbaric nature of the crime, where an unarmed man was hacked to death on a highway by six armed assailants who had no known enmity against him but were mere assassins and co-conspirators, needs to be condemned in a befitting manner. Not doing so in such a brutal case, by showing undue leniency to the accused, will adversely affect public confidence in the efficacy of our legal system,” said a Division Bench comprising Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Kauser Edappagath.
The Bench desisted from awarding the death sentence to the convicts saying the crime would not fall under the ‘rarest of rare’ cases.
The court awarded life imprisonment to two other convicts — tenth accused K K Krishnan, former Onchiyam area committee member of the CPM, and 12th accused Geothi Babu, a CPM local leader -- under section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) without curtailing their right to remission. The court said the 10th accused is now 76 years old and frail with many medical issues while the 12th accused is 62 and undergoing medical treatment for multiple ailments.
The court did not enhance the life imprisonment awarded to 18th accused P V Rafeek, a taxi driver, by the Kozhikode sessions court. The HC said Rafeek “was not charged with conspiracy nor was he attributed with any political affiliation or motive in connection with his role in the murder”.
Besides the life imprisonment for murder awarded by the sessions court, the HC also awarded life imprisonment to the killer gang -- M C Anoop, Kirmani Manoj, Kodi Suni, Rajeesh Thundikandi, K K Mohammed Shafi, and K Shinoj -- for conspiracy. Adding these, the six convicts were sentenced to double life imprisonment.
“While the crime would certainly rank as a heinous one committed against the victim, T P Chandrasekharan, it is also one that threatens to undermine the democratic principles by which the people of this country, as a whole, have chosen to be governed. Crimes that have the effect of inducing fear in the people to the point where they are prevented from freely exercising their constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of speech and expression ought to be dealt with firmly, for they cannot be tolerated in a society that is governed by the rule of law,” the Bench said.
Observing that the fine imposed by the trial court was insufficient, the HC enhanced the compensation and directed that the victim’s wife be paid Rs 7.5 lakh and son Rs 5 lakh.
“The fine imposed on the deceased P K Kunhanandan by the trial court shall be realised from his wife,” the court said.
Advocate P Kumarankutty, the special public prosecutor, and Advocate S Rajeev, the counsel for the victim, submitted: “Considering the seriousness of the crime and the gruesome manner in which it was committed, it is a fit case that falls under the category of ‘rarest of rare cases’ and capital punishment should be given. No other punishment would be adequate.”
The court pointed out that the prosecution had not produced any material to suggest that reforming the accused is improbable. Under these circumstances, the court desisted from awarding the death sentence.
Court’s observation
The gravity of the offence committed by the accused does not call for extending any leniency to them in the matter of punishment, more so when the offence amounts to an assault on democracy itself.
Any crime that is committed to silence dissent, which is an integral facet of the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution, has to be seen as a crime against the people at large in a society that has chosen to be governed by democratic principles.
K K Rema welcomes verdict
Welcoming the High Court verdict, K K Rema, MLA, wife of slain RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan, said that the legal battle will continue to bring all the accused before the law. “All culprits behind the murder have not been brought before the law. The conspiracy behind the murder should also come out. For this, we will continue our fight,” she told reporters in Kochi on Tuesday. “I welcome the verdict. Some of the convicts have been awarded double life imprisonment. Besides, those excluded earlier from conspiracy charges have been slapped with conspiracy charges. The court said that it was a brutal murder. It is significant that the order states that nobody should be murdered for airing his views or political opinions,” she added.