Madras High Court suspends life sentence against three persons in murder case

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Sunday suspended the life sentence imposed by a trial court on three persons in a murder case.

A bench comprising Justices AD Jagadish Chandira and K Rajasekar was hearing a joint petition filed by Kathiresan, Rajesh and Kumar seeking suspension of the life sentence imposed by the Chief Magistrate of Karur and seeking bail. The accused were convicted on April 21, 2020, for murdering V Anbalagan with a personal motive. The counsel for the petitioners said the presence of witnesses at the crime scene was uncertain. They added that the complaint was filed around 6 am, but the FIR was received by the court concerned at around 5.50 pm. The additional public prosecutor denied the charge.

The court said that the presence of eyewitnesses was uncertain and that the delay in filing the FIR in the court was not properly explained. Considering that the appeal involves contentious issues which are unlikely to come to a final hearing soon, the court stayed the judgment passed by the trial court. The petitioners will have to appear before the district court in Karur on the first working day of every month at 10.30 am until further notice, the court said.