The Supreme Court, in a majority judgment of 2:1, confirmed the death sentence of a man for the gruesome rape of a 10-year-old child and the double murder of her and her seven-year-old brother in Coimbatore nine years ago.
The majority decision of Justices Rohinton Nariman and Hemant Gupta on Thursday concluded that the convict, Manoharan , showed no remorse for the heinous crime and found it a case of the “rarest of rare category” deserving the death penalty. Manoharan had come in appeal.
However, Justice Sanjeev Khanna, while confirming the guilt of Manoharan, dissented with the majority decision and awarded him life sentence without remission/commutation till his natural death.
Justice Nariman, writing for the majority, said the trial court and, subsequently, the Madras High Court correctly balanced the aggravating and mitigating factors for and against Manoharan to find that the “crime committed was cold blooded and involves the rape of a minor girl and murder of two children in the most heinous fashion possible”.
The majority judgment said Manoharan falsely retracted only those parts of his earlier confessional statement which implicated him of the rape of the young girl and the murder of both her and her little brother.
“Consequently, we confirm the death sentence and dismiss the appeals,” Justice Nariman wrote for himself and Justice Gupta.
Justice Khanna, in his dissenting judgment, held the retraction of the confession should not be treated as absence of remorse or repentance but “an afterthought or on advice propelled by fear that the appellant (Manoharan) in view of his admission may face the gallows, and that the earlier confession made seeking forgiveness would be the cause of his death”.
This “thought of doubt and attempt to retract had surfaced on account of belief that the sense of remorse, repentance and forgiveness would not be appreciated and given due regard, cannot be ruled out”. Justice Khanna said the retraction should not be held against Manoharan.
Justice Khanna also considered the mitigating factors in favour of Manoharan, saying he was a first-time offender. He was 23 years of age at the time of the crime. He hails from a poor family and has aged parents. The crime was masterminded by his friend, Mohanakrishnan, who was later killed in a police encounter .
“Mohanakrishnan had thought, conceived and had single-handedly executed the plan to abduct the children. Appellant did join him thereafter and was with Mohanakrishnan. Subsequently the devil in Mohanakrishnan took over and he sexually assaulted and raped the small girl, while the appellant kept quiet. Later the appellant too sexually assaulted and committed rape. Thereupon, poison was administered to the children before throwing them into the canal,” Justice Khanna wrote.
The judge said the offence committed was “heinous and deplorable” but did not call for the gallows.
On October 29, 2010, Mohanakrishnan, along with Manoharan, kidnapped the children, on their way to school, and took them to a remote area called Gopalasamy temple hills. The girl was sexually assaulted by both the men. The children were then fed milk with a poisonous substance added to it. They were then tied up and thrown into the swirling waters of Parambikulam-Azhiyar Project canal.
