The Madras High Court has upheld the conviction and life sentence imposed by a trial court on a man who murdered an engineering college girl student in a classroom in Karur district in 2016, expressing disappointment that fellow students who were witnesses turned hostile during the trial.
Court's Observations
A division bench of Justice N Anand Venkatesh and Justice K K Ramakrishnan observed, "With a heavy heart, the court has to hold that the students had let down the deceased by not supporting the case of the prosecution and thus they failed in their duty to uphold truth. This is the type of attitude that was exhibited by the so-called educated students, who were doing an engineering course. The education did not really build up a character to the students and rather each of the students, who turned hostile, exhibited pusillanimity."
Details of the Case
The prosecution stated that the deceased, Sonali, was close to the accused, Udhayakumar, for some time but later ended the relationship. Sonali was studying in an engineering college in Karur, and Udhayakumar was also a student in the same college and branch. Due to lack of attendance, he was debarred from writing exams and discontinued his studies.
On August 30, 2016, Udhayakumar trespassed into the classroom and assaulted Sonali on her head indiscriminately with a wooden log. She sustained grievous injuries and later succumbed in the hospital. The Karur Town police arrested Udhayakumar. In 2022, the Mahila Court in Karur convicted and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Challenging this, Udhayakumar filed a criminal appeal.
Disappointment with Witnesses
The court expressed disappointment at the attitude of the students who were eyewitnesses but turned hostile. "In the first place, no attempt was made by any student to prevent the accused person from carrying out the attack. Even after the incident, no attempt was made by the students to overpower the accused person. Even if the students were not forthcoming to act in this manner, the minimum they should have done is to have spoken before the court," the judges observed.
The bench further noted, "The student community must understand that it is only a matter of time that a similar incident may happen to any student in a college in such a gruesome fashion. There is no use in merely expressing dissent and expressing views in social media and it has to translate itself into action or else the students will only become paper tigers in real life."
Motive and Verdict
The motive in this case was the broken relationship between the deceased and the accused. The disgruntled accused barged into the college and attacked the deceased. The judges observed that this perfectly aligns with the prosecution's case and there is no reason to doubt it. They dismissed the appeal, upholding the life sentence.
