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Convicts on death row move Supreme Court

New Delhi: Three persons said to be belonging to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, sentenced to death in the ‘Dharmapuri bus burning case’ on Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking stay of the death sentence imposed on them.

The case relates to the death of three girl students — Kokilavani, Gayathri and Hemalatha — of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, when the bus in which they were travelling along with 44 other students and two teachers was torched on February 2, 2000.

On February 16, 2007, a trial court in Salem had awarded death sentence to three accused — Nedunchezhian, Ravindran and C. Muniappan — and awarded sentences of varying periods to 25 others.

The trial court had said that the sentences would run consecutively.

On appeal, the Madras High Court on December 6 confirmed the death sentence and the sentence of imprisonment imposed on others but modified it to the extent that it would run concurrently. The present appeals are directed against this judgment.

In their appeals, the three convicts assailed the High court judgment confirming the capital punishment in a case of a non-gruesome murder, which even as per the prosecution case fell under the exception of grave and sudden provocation in the spur of the moment. They said that the lower courts with a prejudiced attitude and being pressured by the existence of heavy media influence and exposure convicted them under Section 302 IPC (murder) and awarded the death penalty without appreciating the fact that the death of the deceased was a result of mob violence.

Earlier, first Additional District Sessions Judge C. Manickam, as per the provisions of the Criminal Rules of Practice, issued a warrant for executing the three accused.

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