The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently upheld the life sentence awarded to a man for murdering his four-year-old son in Tirunelveli in 2012. A Bench comprising Justices V Bharathidasan and R Pongiappan passed the order after rejecting the man’s claim that he was of unsound mind at the time of the incident.

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Madras HC upholds life sentence awarded to man for killing his son
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently upheld the life sentence awarded to a man for murdering his four-year-old son in Tirunelveli in 2012.

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Published: 04th November 2021 05:16 AM | Last Updated: 04th November 2021 05:16 AM | A+A A-
jail, prison, bars, behind, shadow,Image used for representationBy Express News Service
MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently upheld the life sentence awarded to a man for murdering his four-year-old son in Tirunelveli in 2012. A Bench comprising Justices V Bharathidasan and R Pongiappan passed the order after rejecting the man’s claim that he was of unsound mind at the time of the incident.

According to the prosecution, on December 1, 2012, the man, David, had an altercation with his wife, saying she was neglecting him and showering all her affection on their son. He then took the boy to a nearby temple and hacked him to death with a bill hook. Based on his wife’s testimony, I Additional District and Sessions Court at Tirunelveli convicted him and awarded life sentence in 2015.

David’s counsel filed an appeal in 2018, contending that David was of unsound mind at the time of the incident. Though a psychological evaluation was conducted after his remand, the report was not produced before the trial court, he claimed. He requested the court to set aside the conviction by invoking Section 84 of the IPC, which states, “Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who, at the time of doing it, by reason of unsoundness of mind, is incapable of knowing the nature of the act….”

The Bench rejected the contention, saying the psychological evaluation was done two years after the crime. Moreover, the report shows he only suffers from a seizure disorder and does not have any primary psychiatric illness, the judges added. Since there is no material to prove that David was of unsound mind while committing the murder, the judges upheld the conviction.