Abolish Death Penalty India: Madras High Court commutes death sentence to life term for man who murdered cousin

Sunday, October 12, 2025

Madras High Court commutes death sentence to life term for man who murdered cousin

Kaushik Kannan

Oct 12, 2025

Madurai: Summary

The Madras High Court has commuted the death sentence of Lakshmanan, who was previously convicted for murdering his cousin Logapriya in Pudukottai in April 2021, changing it to life imprisonment. Lakshmanan had attacked Logapriya at her home after she refused to give him money to settle his debts; he stabbed her with a knife and struck her with an iron rod, killing her, and then took her gold chain, mobile phone, and two‑wheeler. The principal district and sessions court had originally convicted him of murder and awarded the death penalty in April 2025. However, when the case was reviewed by the High Court, a division bench agreed that the conviction was justified but ruled that the case did not meet the “rarest of rare” threshold required for capital punishment. The court noted mitigating factors such as Lakshmanan’s lack of prior criminal record, the possibility of reform, and his behavior in custody, and on that basis reduced his sentence to life imprisonment instead of execution.

Chennai High Court: Wiki image

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/hc-commutes-death-sentence-to-life-term-for-man-who-murdered-cousin/articleshow/124486122.cms?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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The Death Penalty Scenario in India

India is one of 193 countries that retains the death penalty. Some judges have delivered landmark verdicts upholding the rights of death row prisoners, while debates continue advocating abolition or reform of sentencing policies. The Indian government remains committed to retention, asserting executions occur only in “rarest of rare” cases. The death penalty applies to crimes including murder, kidnapping, terrorism, desertion, inducement to suicide of a minor or mentally-retarded person, and in certain cases of rape. Outrage over child rape and murder has intensified these discussions. After an unofficial eight-year moratorium, the government executed Ajmal Kasab (Mumbai attacks) in 2012 and Afzal Guru (Parliament attack) in 2013, both covertly and immediately after mercy petitions were rejected. Prior to this, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed in 2004 after 13 years on death row. Following these, many mercy petitions have been rejected, creating fear among death row convicts. Courts continue to hand down death sentences at an increasing rate. Empirical studies highlight the plight of death row prisoners. The India Exclusion Report 2017-18 found fair trial rights largely denied, with convicts often marginalized by caste, religion, poverty, and education. The Death Penalty Research Project (2015) documented socio-economic profiles and experiences of death row prisoners. Dr. Reena Mary George’s studies (2014, 2009) emphasized poverty, social exclusion, and dignity as central to death row experiences, and examined the human rights impact of the penalty. According to the National Crime Records Bureau 2015, 101 prisoners were on death row, with many sentences commuted to life. The “rarest of rare” doctrine introduced by the Supreme Court in the 1980s has not substantially limited death sentences, which have increased over the decades. Justice Joseph (2018) reaffirmed the Bachan Singh judgment but urged restriction of the death penalty to only those cases meeting its criteria. While updating the blog and conducting my own empirical studies, I observed the heinous nature of the crimes that were committed and thought about the families, about their loss, about the victims who for no fault of their own died. If I lost my relative or a dear friend, would I still oppose death penalty and would I still advocate to abolish the death sentence? Having worked in the criminal justice system and also having the seen the other side, where often it is the marginalized, vulnerable and oppressed who are on death row makes me want to advocate for abolition of this punishment. Victims should definitely get justice for their loss, for their pain. No one should escape the rule of law. As long as humanity exists; crime will exist. Should we not re-consider our sentencing policies? Reena Mary George