TN Honour Killing Case : Supreme Court Upholds Life Sentence Of Police Inspector For Fabricating Evidence Against Dalits

In the horrific 'Kannagi-Murugesan' honour killing case which took place in Tamil Nadu in 2003, the Supreme Court, while confirming the convictions of nine persons, also upheld the conviction of two police officers, who were accused of fabricating evidence.

A bench comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra rejected the appeals of K.P. Tamilmaran and M. Sellamuthu, who were the Sub-Inspector and Inspector, respectively, of the Virudhachalam police station at the relevant point of time.

The case involved the brutal murder of an inter-caste couple S Murugesan and D Kannagi, who were poisoned by the latter's family members. Murugesan was a graduate in Chemical Engineering and belonged to the Dalit Community. Kannagi was a commerce graduate and belonged to the Vanniyar community. The couple were secretly married on May 5, 2003.

Tamilmaran was convicted for the offences under Section 217 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of the Schedueld Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. He was sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment. Sellamuthu was sentenced to life imprisonment for the offences under Sections 217 and 218 IPC and Sections 3(2)(i) and 4 of SC/ST Act.

Firstly, the Court noted that both officers delayed the registration of the FIR despite getting information about the double murders. When members from Murugesan's family went to the police station to register an FIR, they were rebuffed and were given caste-based abuses.  The Court stated that as per Section 154 CrPC and the dictum in the Lalita Kumari judgment, the police are duty-bound to register FIR as soon as getting information about a cognizable offence.

When the murders attracted media attention and generated public outrage, almost nine days after the crime, Sellamuthu manufactured an extra-judicial confession of the first accused and registered the FIR against four Dalits (family members of Murugesan) and four Vanniyars.

A-14 (K.P Tamilmaran) and A-15 (M. Sellamuthu) both had committed the offences under Section 217 IPC and Section 4 of the SC/ST Act as they neglected their duties and disobeyed the law by not registering the FIR at the first instance with the intention to save the culprits.

The Court stated that A-15 was the main architect behind the FIR dated 17.07.2003, which falsely implicated the four members of Schedule Caste community. Further, it was A-15 who was in-charge of the investigation which led to the filing of the chargesheet against the innocent persons belonging to Dalit community.

"There is no doubt that A-15 did this entire exercise to absolve culprits belonging to the Vanniyar community of their complicity in the crime, and he knowingly and deliberately falsely implicated some of the Dalits in an offence punishable with death. Evidence, as discussed earlier, makes it clear that A- 15 manufactured the extra-judicial confessions and evidence and thereafter, filed the chargesheet against Dalits on the basis of that evidence. Hence, the High Court rightly upheld the conviction of A-15 under Sections 217, 218 of IPC andSections 4, 3(2)(i) of the SC/ST Act and the sentence of life imprisonment. There is no doubt in our mind that A-15 is guilty of the offences as held both by the Trial Court as well as the High Court in appeal," the Court observed.

The Court also upheld the life sentences of nine others, including the brother and father of Kannagi.

Other reports about the judgment can be read here.