Justice Ranjan Gogoi had this to say in Govindachamy’s death penalty appeal

The legal battle surrounding the infamous rape and murder of a Kerala native, will soon come to a close. The Supreme Court of India today reserved its judgment in the appeal filed by the accused, Govindachamy, against the death penalty he has been awarded..The matter came up today before a bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Prafulla C Pant and Uday Umesh Lalit, JJ. And although judgment was reserved, the remarks made by future Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, may just give some indication of the final decision..But first the facts..Govindachamy, a beggar with only one hand, is accused of first attempting to rob the victim after finding her in a deserted train compartment. When that failed, he pushed her out of the train, and finding her semi-conscious, raped her. The victim succumbed to her injuries shortly thereafter..Both the fast track Court at Thrissur, as well as the Kerala High Court, were unanimous in their assessment of the punishment. Reasoning that the accused was a menace to the society, and a habitual offender, they had conferred death penalty..However, in the Supreme Court today, things seemed to be looking up for the accused, with the Court remarking that the charge of murder seems to, prima facie, rest on circumstantial evidence..Even though the prosecution lawyer insisted that the head injuries sustained by the victim did not seem to indicate that she could have had the ability to respond to the threat by ‘jumping out’ of the train, the apex court did not seem to buy into the argument..Justice Ranjan Gogoi remarked that,.“Insofar as the offence under Section 376 is concerned, it is reasonably clear to us that it has been proved. However, as far as the charge under Section 302 is concerned, it is mostly circumstantial… not proved beyond reasonable doubt.”.The hearing concluded today with the Bench on the fence about the charge of murder. Whether this actually translates into a reduction or reversal of the punishment is something only time will tell.