The Kerala government on Thursday said it would challenge the Supreme Court decision to set aside the death sentence awarded for homicide to Govindachamy.
The apex court has upheld the life imprisonment given to him for rape.
It extended to Govindachamy the benefit of doubt in the murder charge against him.
CM’s reactionExpressing solidarity with the victim’s family, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a Facebook post that the State would seek the counsel of the best legal minds in the country to file a review petition in the Supreme Court.
Stoked by television channels, the news of the “reprieve” for the accused quickly became a highly emotive issue in the State.
Many working women, who commute daily in overcrowded buses and trains, came on television and expressed solidarity with the victim, a saleswoman who was murdered a day before her betrothal.
The initial news that the accused had “got away with a light seven-year sentence” animated the Opposition parties to break the Onam holiday with aggressive protest marches and statements.
The BJP burned an effigy of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy blamed the “uncaring” attitude of the Home Department for the “debacle”.
