Clay pot row: Life term upheld for killing woman

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has confirmed the life term awarded by a lower court to a youth for killing a woman after her father’s cattle damaged his clay pots. Dismissing a criminal appeal, a division bench comprising Justices C Nagappan and P Devadass said that there was no material contradiction in the victim’s written, judicial and oral dying declarations. There was consistency in them.According to prosecution, on April 1, 2010, the cattle belonging to one Ramamoorthy of Kozhipakkam New Colony in Panruti, Cuddalore district, damaged the clay pots of his neighbour, Jaganathan. A quarrel ensued. The next day, Jaganathan’s son Udayakumar poured kerosene on Ramamoorthy’s daughter Lakshmi, who was standing in front of her house, and set her ablaze. She died on April 6. On October 5, 2010, the Additional Sessions Judge, Cuddalore, accepting the dying declarations of Lakshmi and other materials produced by the prosecution, found Udayakumar guilty under section 302 murder) IPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Hence, the present appeal.The appellant’s counsel said that the prosecution had not established its case beyond reasonable doubt.Rejecting the contention, the bench said that when the dying declarations were made, the victim was in a fit mental condition.There was nothing to establish that she was prompted or tutored to make false declarations. She had voluntarily made the declarations and they were genuine and acceptable. Based on them, a conviction could be safely ordered. The prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. There was no sudden provocation. What Udayakumar had done was nothing less of murder. The trial court had rightly convicted him and sentenced him accordingly, the Bench said.