Adolf Hitler Was A Vegetarian, Hated Animal Cruelty; Man Can't Be Judged By Outer Appearance : Madras High Court While Upholding Death Penalty

In a case arising out of aggravated sexual assault and cruel murder of a 7-year-old child from a marginalised community, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has upheld the death sentence imposed on the culprit by the trial court. A Division Bench of Justice S. Vaidyanathan and Justice G. Jayachandran confirmed the death sentence of the accused made by Mahila Court, Pudukottai. While giving reasons for confirming the capital punishment given to the 26-year-old accused by the trial court, the bench also made a reference to Adolf Hitler to drive home the point that people can be deceptive and there is no comeback for a person once a line is crossed. "It is pertinent to mention here that everyone's mind contains a liar, a cheat and a sinner and a man cannot be judged by his outer appearance, as Adolf Hitler, who ordered the execution of some eight million people and was responsible for the deaths of many millions more, hated cruelty to animals and was a vegetarian. If a person like the accused herein is allowed to survive in this world, he will definitely pollute the mind of other co-prisoners, who will be at the verge of release from jail in which he is confined. When the attitude of a man turns into the one of a beast, having no mercy over other creatures, he should be punished and sent to the eternal world." The bench, therefore, held that the brutality of the attack, the barbaric manner in which the deceased child was murdered and the mental agony undergone by the parents makes it one of the 'rarest of rare' cases. The court added that it necessitates the imposition of death sentence, since no other sentence including life imprisonment will be adequate. The accused was booked for offences under Sections 364, 376, 302, 201 IPC r/w 5(m), 5(j)(iv) and 6 (1) of POCSO Act as well as 3(2)(V) of SC/ ST Act. The case of the prosecution was that the accused developed a friendship with the child belonging to the Scheduled Castes Community and used it to fulfil his sexual desires. Upholding the guilt of the accused in the case at hand, the court observed that: "…Looking at any angle, it could easily be concluded without any suspicion that in all human probability, the accused must have committed the offence. The accused, taking advantage of the solitary of the deceased child and her mother, being a retarded woman, acquainted with the deceased only for the purpose of triggering his subjective feeling and therafter, fearing disclosure of the offence by the deceased, he decided to put a stop to her inhale in a brutal manner, which a normal human being dare not to do so." The court also remarked that they were hesitant at first to take away the life of another person via a judicial order. However, the bench noted that they were reminded of the preaching of Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the battle field that 'everyone is going to disappear from the World, even if he (Arjuna) does not shoot the enemies with arrows, even though they are relatives / known persons'. The bench also quotes poet Tiruvalluvar, Bible, Holy Quran and even a 1964 Sivaji Ganesan starrer film song by Seergazhi S.Govindarajan to philosophically elucidate on the propriety of imposing death sentence in this case. Relying on Ramnaresh & Ors. vs. State of Chhattisgarh and Bacchan Singh's case, the court observed that the prosecution witness statements, deposition of doctor who conducted autopsy and postmortem certificate reveal the barbaric nature of the act committed by the accused. "...From the above report and deposition, one can easily visualize as to how the victim girl would have undergone sufferings and pain. The accused, after fulfilling his carnal thirst, had brutally attacked the deceased child with Fencing Karuvai Stick (M.O.6) and dashed her head on a tree, so as to pierce her face and neck. The recovery of M.O.6 was witnessed by P.W.9, a Village Administrative Officer and the stick was seized on due identification by the accused himself." Placing reliance on Hanuman Govind Nargudkas v. State of M.P, AIR 1952 SC 343, the court also added that the chain of evidence in the present was complete enough not to leave any reasonable ground for the conclusion consistent with innocence of the accused. "...As per the circumstantial evidence, otherwise known as last seen together theory, there should be corroborative evidences to connect the accused with the crime and the most important of it is that it can be a conclusive evidence, if the time gap between the accused and the deceased seen together is very minimal. Invariably and obviously, the time gap was too short in this case and P.Ws.2 to 5 had seen both the accused and the deceased together in and around the Kali Temple on 30.06.2020 between 3:00pm and 6:00pm", the court concluded. Background & Arguments Raised The case of the prosecution was based on circumstantial evidence. After sexual...

Adolf Hitler Was A Vegetarian, Hated Animal Cruelty; Man Can't Be Judged By Outer Appearance : Madras High Court While Upholding Death Penalty

Sebin James

"....a man cannot be judged by his outer appearance... Adolf Hitler, who ordered the execution of some eight million people and was responsible for the deaths of many millions more, hated cruelty to animals and was a vegetarian", the court noted in the judgment.

Tags