Kerala High Court commutes death sentence of man who killed minor nephews

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday commuted the death penalty imposed on the accused in the 2013 Pathanamthitta murder case to life imprisonment. [State of Kerala v Thomas Chacko @ Shibu].A division bench of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Syam Kumar VM observed that the case did not fall under the category of the ‘rarest of rare cases’ warranting death sentence.However, the Court noted that the accused had brutally killed his two nephews aged 7 and 3 and, therefore deserved harsh punishment. Accordingly, the Court sentenced the accused to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment without remission."We are of the view that the facts in the instant case do not make it appropriate for classification under the head “rarest of rare” warranting imposition of a death sentence on the appellant/accused. That said, we cannot lose sight of the heinous crime that was committed by the appellant/accused against two innocent children aged 7 and 3. The brutal manner in which the crime was committed on the children, who were the children of his own brother and in relation to whom he occupied a position of trust, certainly warrants a harsh punishment," the Court stated. .The accused Thomas Chacko aka Shibu was living with his wife and had strained relationship his father and sister-in-law due to ongoing conflicts over property division. Chacko harbored intense resentment towards his father and sister-in-law, Bindhu, who lived with her two young sons, Melbin (7) and Mebin (3), in the family home.On the morning of October 27, 2013, Chacko visited his parental home with the sinister intention of harming his family. In a gruesome act, he slit the throats of Melbin and Mebin. When Bindhu attempted to intervene, he assaulted her and threw chili powder in her face to incapacitate her. Not stopping there, he set the house on fire and attempted to take his own life by consuming poison..Charges under Sections 449 (house-trespass in order to commit an offence punishable with death), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc.), and 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC were framed.The trial court found Chacko guilty of all charges and sentenced him to death.The State then filed a death sentence reference before the Kerala High Court to confirm the death penalty..The Court reviewed the mitigating factors presented by Chacko's lawyer and the Mitigation Investigation Report submitted on behalf of death penalty research organisation, Project 39A. It found that Mathew had no previous criminal record and was utilising his time in the prison productively.The Court also examined the reports from the Superintendent of the prison and the Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and observed that Thomas though asocial was abiding by the prison rules and had even expressed regret over the incident for which he was undergoing punishment..Thus, the Court changed his death sentence to rigorous imprisonment for a period of 30 years without remission along with a fine of ₹5,00,000 to be released to the parents of the deceased.It directed the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA) to disburse the amounts due to the parents, from the Kerala Victim Compensation Scheme if compensation was not yet paid under Section 357-A (Victim compensation scheme) of the CrPC..Special Public Prosecutor Ambika Devi S appeared for the state.Advocate VA Ajivass appeared for Thomas Chacko aka Shibu..[Read Judgment]