Systemic reckoning: On the verdict in the Sattankulam murder case

Delivery of justness to hapless victims of constabulary brutality requires a operation of an actively engaged judiciary, the courageousness of victims and witnesses to talk retired against the khaki fraternity, and a determined probe to assemble irrefutable evidence. All these factors perfectly aligned to uncover the information down the custodial sidesplitting of an guiltless trader, Jayaraj, and his lad Benicks, who were tortured astatine the Sattankulam constabulary presumption successful Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, six years ago. Relying connected the CBI’s technological evidence, contempt aboriginal attempts to destruct it, a proceedings tribunal successful Madurai has present convicted each 9 policemen arraigned successful the case. A tenth accused had died earlier of COVID-19. While the awarding of the decease punishment to the convicts militates against the rule of rehabilitative justice, the condemnation sends a beardown connection to those successful azygous who presume the powerfulness to wield unit against unarmed citizens arsenic if it were a statutory right. This lawsuit mightiness person passed disconnected arsenic yet different suspicious custodial decease but for overwhelming grounds of torture and nationalist outrage. The constabulary picked up Jayaraj connected mendacious charges of violating lockdown conditions during the pandemic, and Benicks was detained aboriginal erstwhile helium confronted them for assaulting his father. The 2 men were stripped, brutally beaten overnight, and adjacent forced to cleanable their ain humor with their clothes. After registering an FIR connected trumped-up charges, the injured men were produced earlier a authorities doctor, who dubiously issued a “fit for remand” report. The jurisdictional magistrate excessively mechanically remanded them to judicial custody, yet starring to their deaths.

That the policemen felt entitled was evident erstwhile a Judicial Magistrate recovered the ambiance astatine the presumption hostile and “intimidating”. Justices P.N. Prakash and B. Pugalendhi of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, having taken suo motu cognisance, successful an bonzer direction, asked gross officials to instrumentality power of the presumption to safeguard evidence. The turning constituent came erstwhile a caput constable, Revathi, testified against her colleagues. The CBI established that humor samples recovered from the presumption matched the victims’ DNA, portion telephone information records confirmed the beingness of some the victims and the accused astatine the clip of the crime, sealing the case. The proceedings tribunal appears to person applied azygous proportionality successful assigning culpability to each accused. This whitethorn not withstand scrutiny successful higher courts, arsenic seen successful the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, wherever the Supreme Court, successful 1999, upheld the decease sentences of lone 4 of the 26 convicted by the TADA court. Nonetheless, the convictions should assistance sensitise the constabulary unit that excesses volition not spell unpunished.