The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has confirmed the life sentence awarded to a man by Tirunelveli Additional Sessions Court IV in 2018 for the murder of his wife in 2015.
A Division Bench of Justices S. Vaidyanathan and G. Jayachandran observed that there was no illegality or error in the judgment of the trial court and confirmed the conviction and the sentence awarded by the trial court. The court was hearing the criminal appeal filed by the convict, Avudaiyappan alias Raj, challenging the trial court judgment.
The case of the prosecution was that the matrimonial relationship between Avudaiyappan and his wife Ramalakshmi was not cordial. There were frequent quarrels between them since Avudaiyappan was an alcoholic and was irregular to work.
The couple were living in Thoothukudi. Later, Ramalakshmi moved to her parents’ house in Tirunelveli along with her two children. For nearly three years, Ramalakshmi lived with her parents.
In 2015, a few months before the occurrence of the crime, Avudaiyappan approached Ramalakshmi’s parents and promised them that he would take proper care of his wife and children. He requested them to reunite his wife with him.
Ramalakshmi’s parents conceded his request and the couple moved into a house near her parents’ house. But, on the fateful day, the couple quarrelled again, and the children ran to their grandparents’ house to alert them.
When they rushed to Ramalakshmi’s house, her parents found Avudaiyappan hitting her with an iron rod. When they tried to intervene, he threatened them and ran away with the iron rod. Ramalakshmi succumbed to her injuries.
Tirunelveli police had booked a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
