The Supreme Court has commuted the death sentence of a Tamil Nadu convict to life imprisonment for murdering a seven-year-old child. Sundararajan, from Tamil Nadu, kidnapped a child in 2009 and asked for a bail of Rs.5 lakh. However, he killed the child because the parents could not provide the amount. In 2013, Sundararajan was given the death sentence by the Supreme Court for this crime. In 2018, the court agreed to hear the petition filed by Sundararajan challenging the death sentence. Today, the judgment given by the bench headed by Chief Justice Chandrachud reduced the death sentence to life imprisonment. The court emphasized that before the death sentence, the possibility of commutation of sentence was not considered, and separate verdicts were not given. Sundararajan should spend 20 years in jail for murdering a child.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has commuted the death sentence of a convict from Tamil Nadu to life imprisonment for murdering a seven-year-old child.
A person from Tamil Nadu, Sundararajan, kidnapped a 7-year-old child in 2009 and asked for a bail of Rs.5 lakh. He killed the child because the parents did not provide it. After being found guilty in this case, the Supreme Court sentenced Sundararajan to death in 2013.
In 2018, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the petition filed by Sundararajan challenging the death sentence. Accordingly, the petition was heard and decided today.
In the judgment given by the bench headed by Chief Justice Chandrachud, “There is no reason to doubt Sundararajan’s guilt in the crimes of kidnapping and murder. The crime of murdering a child is heinous. However, before sentencing the convict to death, the possibility of commutation of sentence was not considered. In addition, the judges did not give separate verdicts. Therefore, the death sentence imposed on Sundarrajan is reduced to life imprisonment.
At the same time, a life sentence does not mean spending 14 years in prison and occasionally getting out on bail. He should remain in jail for 20 years.