New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the conviction and sentence of life term imposed on the father-son and others in a case related to 'honour' killing of his daughter, belonging to Vanniyar caste, and a Dalit boy, saying it is a “wicked and odious crime”, and “is the ugly reality of our deeply entrenched caste structure”. The accused committed the offence as they were annoyed over the couple's marriage in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu in 2003.
A bench comprising justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Prashant Kumar Mishra decided to dismiss the appeals filed by eleven petitioners, including two police men. The young couple, Murugesan, a BE graduate, employed in Bengaluru, and Kannagi, a B Com graduate, were in their early twenties when they were killed.
Justice Dhulia, writing the judgment on behalf of the bench, said this is a case of a dastardly murder of a young couple, Murugesan and Kannagi, who were only in their early twenties, when they were killed, and both of them were administered poison in full view of a large number of villagers.
The bench noted that the masterminds and the main perpetrators of this macabre act were none other than the father and the brother of the girl, Kannagi. “The reason behind the murder of this young couple was that Kannagi, belonging to the ‘Vanniyar’ community, had dared to marry Murugesan, who was a ‘Dalit’ from the same village. So, at the root of this crime is the deeply entrenched hierarchical caste system in India, and ironically, this most dishonourable act goes by the name of honour-killing!”, said Justice Dhulia, in the 73-page judgment.
Justice Dhulia said the crime committed by the accused was a “wicked and odious crime”, and added that it “is the ugly reality of our deeply entrenched caste structure”. “Honour-killing, as these are called, must get a strong measure of punishment”, said Justice Dhulia.
The accused had argued that the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses were unreliable. The accused stressed that there had been a total failure on the part of the prosecution to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Declining to accept this contention of the accused, the bench upheld the conviction of the girl's family members and two police officers.
The apex court said the high court was correct in upholding the conviction of police officers K P Tamilmaran and M Sellamuthu under Sections 217, 218 of the IPC and Sections 4, 3(2)(i) of the SC/ST Act and the sentence of life imprisonment.
The bench said these officers declined to register an FIR, and later, after facing pressure from the media, politicians, and public, they registered the case only to implicate innocent persons belonging to the Dalit community.
The bench noted that the investigating officer was behind the devious and dishonest investigation from the very beginning, and he had falsely implicated the family members of Murugesan, who belonged to a Schedule Caste community of Tamil Nadu, and there is conclusive evidence in this regard.
“The purpose of an investigation, like the purpose of a trial, is to reach the truth. An Investigating Officer must lawfully collect evidence. In the present case, the Investigating Officer not only covered evidence but fabricated his own. Instead of collecting evidence, he created evidence and tried to implicate the innocent and set the guilty loose”, said the bench.
The bench declined to accept the contention of the petitioners that most of the witnesses were relatives. “In cases where the crime is committed at the residence or a place near the residence of the deceased, it is the close relatives who are likely to be witnesses to the crime. They are natural witnesses”, said the bench.
The bench also directed the Tamil Nadu government to pay Rs five lakh as additional compensation to Samikannu-father of Murugesan, and Chinnapillai, step-mother of Murugesan, jointly, or to the nearest of their kin. Chinnapillai was the star witness of the prosecution.
In July 2003, the Kannagi's family apprehended the couple while they were about to leave town. The accused made the couple drink poison, which resulted in their death. Their bodies were later burned in different places: Kannagi in the village cremation ground and Murugesan at a place nearby. In July 2003, nine days after the incident, an FIR was lodged. The Madras High Court ordered a CBI probe in 2004.
In September 2021, a Cuddalore special court sentenced D Maruthupandiyan, Kannagi’s brother, to death.
In 2022, the high court commuted the death sentence awarded by a trial court to the prime accused girl’s brother in the caste killing case to a life term and confirmed the life sentence imposed on others. The court also acquitted two people of all charges.
The eleven accused filed an appeal before the apex court.
