Sathankulam Custodial Death: Madurai Court Finds All Nine Police Officers Guilty, Sentencing On March 30

The First Additional District and Sessions Court, Madurai, on Monday (23rd March) has found all nine police officers accused in the Sathankulam Custodial Death case guilty of causing the death of father-son duo Jayaraj and Bennix.

Judge G Muthukumaran pronounced the verdict on Monday evening. The sentencing will take place on March 30th. Meanwhile, the court has also directed the Centre and State governments to submit details regarding the health condition of the nine accused and their salary statements, along with other asset details.

The judgment comes six years after the horrific incident where Jayaraj and his son Bennix were killed due to custodial violence by the Sathankulam police for allegedly opening their shop beyond 9 pm and violating Covid-19 norms that were in place then. On June 19, 2020, the father-son duo was taken to the Sathankulam Police Station, where they were brutally assaulted by the police and were remanded under sections 188, 269, 294(b), 353, and 506(2) of the IPC. Bennix succumbed to the injuries on June 22, and Jayaraj on June 23rd.

Following the death, cases were registered against 10 police officers, and disciplinary action was also taken against them. The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court also took suo motu cognisance of the issue. While hearing the suo motu case, the High Court had also commented that there was a prima facie case for charges of murder against the officers. The court also noted that the officers were trying to destroy evidence related to the case and directed the Deputy Superintendent of Police, CB-CID, to take charge of the investigation immediately.

The State Government had transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation at the request of the Director General of Police to ensure a free and fair investigation. Charges were framed against the officers for offences under Sections 302, 342, 201, 182, 193, 211, 218, 120(B), and 34 of the IPC against the then Inspector S. Sridhar, Sub-Inspectors P. Raghu Ganesh and K. Balakrishnan, head constables S. Murugan and A. Saamidurai, and constables M. Muthuraj, S. Chelladurai, X. Thomas Francis, S. Veilumuthu, and Special Sub-Inspector Pauldurai. Pauldurai, however, died pending trial due to Covid-19.

Reading out the order on Monday, the judge noted that the injuries inflicted on Jayaraj and Bennix were unnatural, which ultimately caused their death. The court also rejected the argument that the injuries were self-inflicted and noted that the post-mortem reports revealed that the injuries were a result of repeated assault.

The court also noted that though Jayaraj had a history of heart ailment, it could not be said that the death was due to the illness and was in fact due to the repeated injuries suffered at the hands of the police. The court thus concluded that it was a case of murder and found all nine police officers guilty.

Case Title: CBI v. Sridhar and 9 others

Case No: SC 470 of 2020