The Madras High Court on Thursday granted time to nine policemen who were sentenced to death by a trial court in connection with the custodial deaths of P Jeyaraj and his son J Beniks in Sathankulam, Tuticorin district, in 2020. The court allowed them to file appeals against the judgment.
Court Proceedings
Hearing a referred trial case to confirm the death sentence awarded by the trial court, a division bench comprising Justice N Anand Venkatesh and Justice K K Ramakrishnan granted time to the nine convicts for filing appeals. The matter has been posted for further hearing on June 4.
Background of the Case
On April 6, the first additional district and sessions judge G Muthukumaran imposed the death sentence on all nine convicted police officers. They include then inspector S Sridhar, sub-inspectors K Balakrishnan and P Raghu Ganesh, head constables S Murugan and A Samadurai, and four constables - M Muthuraja, S Chelladurai, X Thomas Francis, and S Vailmuthu.
Nearly six years after the father-son duo were tortured and killed by Sathankulam police while in custody, the trial court found all nine police personnel guilty of double murder on March 23. The tenth suspect, then special sub-inspector Paldurai, who was also arrested, died of Covid-19 in August 2020.
The case has drawn widespread attention due to the brutality of the custodial torture and the subsequent conviction of the police officers. The High Court's decision to grant time for appeals is a procedural step in the legal process, allowing the convicted to challenge the trial court's verdict.
