Supreme Court acquits two death row convicts (Uttarakhand) in rape-murder case

Express News Service

Updated on: 29 May 2026, 4:14 am

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has acquitted two men sentenced to death by the Uttarakhand trial court and High Court for the alleged rape and murder of a 55-year-old woman in Uttarakhand on the grounds that the prosecution failed to establish a complete and reliable chain of circumstances connecting them with the crime.

“The FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report merely records the presence of semen traces in the vaginal swab collected during the postmortem examination and does not, in the absence of any corroborative material, establish the appellants’ (Convicts) complicity in the alleged offence,” said a three-judge Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and Vijay Bishnoi.

Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and Vijay Bishnoi

Setting aside the judgments of the trial court and the HC, the SC said: “No DNA examination or scientific profiling was undertaken to establish the identity of the source of semen or to connect the same with either of the appellants”.

The court said the prosecution also failed to lead any evidence regarding the probable age or duration of the semen traces detected in the vaginal swab. “In the absence of such scientific evidence, no definite inference could be drawn that the deceased-victim had been subjected to the appeals filed by the murder convicts,” it said.

The judgment stated the prosecution’s case was marred by serious infirmities as regards DNA examination or scientific profiling linking the biological evidence with the accused persons.

The prosecution in the trial court and HC sought to establish the guilt primarily through two circumstances, the “last seen” theory and alleged recoveries made during the investigation. The top court eventually discarded these versions and acquitted the two accused.

Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/May/29/sc-acquits-two-death-row-convicts-in-rape-murder-case

Uttar Pradesh - Man Receives Death Penalty for Family Murders

Devdiscourse News Desk | Kushinagar | India

Updated: 29-05-2026 23:14 IST | Created: 29-05-2026 23:14 IST

Rajesh Gupta has been sentenced to death by an Uttar Pradesh court for the 2021 murders of his wife and two young sons. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh on Gupta, who allegedly killed his family by slitting their throats.

Rajesh Gupta

An Uttar Pradesh court handed down a death sentence to Rajesh Gupta for the brutal murder of his wife Nikki and their two sons in 2021. The verdict includes a fine of Rs 3 lakh, as announced by District and Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar Tyagi. 

According to District Government Advocates G P Yadav and Laxman Pathak, Gupta is to face execution by hanging. The tragic events unfolded when Nikki's brother, Amar Gupta, reported to the Turkapatti police station that his sister and her children, Shivam (7) and Ayush (3), were killed by their father. The gruesome act occurred at their residence with both a sickle and a knife, which were recovered by authorities. Nikki was married to Rajesh Gupta for eight years.

(With inputs from agencies.)

Source: https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/3926444-man-receives-death-penalty-for-family-murders-in-uttar-pradesh?amp

Tamil Nadu: Man Gets Death Penalty For Sexual Assault, Murder Of Minor

Reported by:J Sam Daniel Stalin

India News - May 25, 2026 16:29 pm IST

The POCSO Special Court convicted Dharma Muneeswaran and sentenced him to death by hanging on both counts of sexual assault and murder, 77 days after the crime.

Tutucorin: A POCSO court in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu on Monday awarded a double death sentence to the key accused in the Tuticorin sexual assault and murder case, 77 days after the crime.

Dharma Muneeswaran

The victim, a 17-year-old Class 12 student in Vilathikulam who was reported missing, was found dead in a scrubland near her house in March this year. The POCSO Special Court convicted Dharma Muneeswaran and sentenced him to death by hanging on both counts of sexual assault and murder of the minor. With no CCTV cameras near the scene of crime, 10 special teams analysed 98 CCTV footages in other locations and examined 2,574 phone numbers using the tower dump method. The breakthrough came from a windmill camera that captured a suspicious two-wheeler near the crime scene. The bike's registration number had been tampered with, and the bike was found to be stolen.

Ellammal, Special Public Prosecutor - Mahila Court, Thoothukudi said "We were able to get a fair judgment in a short period of time because everybody who worked on this case was very responsible, and we all wanted to make sure that this should not happen to anybody else ever again". The order came on a day Chief Minister Joseph Vijay urged the police and authorities to expedite trials in sexual and offences against children and obtain stringent punishment through proper trial. Vijay had made women safety and law and order a key campaign issue during his campaign before elections. His meeting comes amid a spurt in sexual offences in the state, including the sexual assault and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Coimbatore, with the opposition targeting the TVK government.

(With inputs from Swarnamathi A)

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/man-gets-death-penalty-for-sexual-assault-murder-of-minor-in-tamil-nadu-11544711

Hyderabad: Man given death penalty for murdering in-laws

22 May 2026

Twenty-two months after a couple were murdered by their son-in-law in Warangal, a local court on Wednesday convicted and awarded him the death sentence. The first additional district court’s judge said in the verdict that apart from death penalty, the convict Mekala Nagaraju has to pay a fine of ₹5,000. 

Autorickshaw driver Mekala Nagaraju, a native of Gundenga village in Mahabubabad district, married Banoth Deepika from Warangal district in 2023 after eloping with her. However, a few days after their marriage, she returned to the residence of her parents – Banoth Srinu (50) and his wife Banoth Suguna (45), since she did not like Nagaraju’s conduct.

Mekala Nagaraju

Despite his repeated requests, Deepika refused to return to him. This made Nagaraju bear a grudge against her and felt that her parents have influenced Deepika. He also came to know that her parents had a plan to get her married to an another man and conspired to kill everyone in her family. On July 10, 2024, Deepika, her brother Srinivas and their parents – Srinu and Suguna were sleeping outside the house in the village.

“The accused with an intention to kill Deepika and her family members, reached her house. He first attacked her parents with a knife while they were asleep on the cot. Immediately, Deepika and her brother Srinivas out of fear tried to escape from the spot. Nagaraju chased and attacked them. Subsequently, he returned to Deepika’s parents’ place and stabbed them nearly 30 times,’’ Warangal police told TOI. Srinivas and Deepika too suffered multiple slash injuries.

During the trial, the witness statements given by Deepika, Srinivas and a few others turned out to be crucial in convicting Nagaraju.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/India/man-given-death-penalty-for-murdering-in-laws/ar-AA23L98d

Supreme Court overturns acquittal of 9, sentences them to life term in doctor’s murder case (Tamil Nadu)

PTI - 19 May, 2026 07:48 pm IST

New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside a Madras High Court order and restored the conviction of nine persons for their role in the 2013 broad-daylight murder of renowned Chennai-based neurologist Subbiah.

While the trial court had originally sentenced several of the accused to death, a bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma took note of the state government’s decision not to press for capital punishment and commuted the sentences to life imprisonment. Authoring the 96-page judgment, Justice Sharma began with a poignant quote from Rabindranath Tagore on the “capaciousness of greed”.

Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma

“The greed of gain has no time or limit to its capaciousness. Its one object is to produce and consume. It has pity neither for beautiful nature nor for living human beings. It is ruthlessly ready without a moment’s hesitation to crush beauty and life,” Tagore had said. The murder, which took place on September 14, 2013, was the culmination of a bitter, decade-long dispute over a two-acre land parcel in Kanyakumari.

Dr Subbiah had longstanding disputes with members of the accused family over ownership of the land. Multiple complaints had been filed before the Land Grabbing Cell, and tensions escalated after criminal proceedings and attempts to cancel the anticipatory bail obtained by some accused. The prosecution successfully proved that the family of one of the accused conspired with henchmen to “eliminate” the doctor, believing his death would allow them to seize the property.

The trial court, in 2021, found the accused guilty and sentenced seven of them to death. In June 2024, the Madras High Court set aside the conviction entirely, acquitting all accused after finding fault in the evidence of the “approver” (an accomplice-turned-witness) and the delay in witness statements. The top court reversed the high court’s acquittal, calling it a “grave error” and restoring the trial court’s findings of guilt. After trial proceedings involving 57 prosecution witnesses and extensive documentary and forensic evidence, the trial court convicted all the accused persons.

Source: https://theprint.in/india/sc-overturns-acquittal-of-9-sentences-them-to-life-term-in-doctors-murder-case/2935678/

Tamil Nadu: Nine Cops Get Death Sentence In Father-Son Custodial Torture Case

Reported by: J Sam Daniel Stalin

Edited by:Ashutosh Tripathi

India News

Apr 06, 2026 21:17 pm IST

The custodial torture dates back to June 19, 2020, when Jayaraj and Benicks, who ran a mobile shop, were arrested for allegedly keeping their shop open beyond permitted hours during the lockdown, a claim later found to be false.

A court in Tamil Nadu's Madurai district on Monday awarded death sentence to nine policemen in the custodial deaths of trader P Jayaraj and his son J Benicks in Thoothukudi district that triggered nationwide outrage six years ago. The nine policemen are Inspector Sridhar, Sub-Inspectors Balakrishnan and Raghu Ganesh, and police personnel Murugan, Samadurai, Muthuraja, Chelladurai, Thomas Francis, and Veilumuthu.

Underlining that this was a "case of abuse of authority", the court maintained that there are many honest police officers in Tamil Nadu and that the ruling will not "instill fear among police".

"Father and son stripped, ruthlessly assaulted... Heart shudders reading about it," the court said.

Delivering the verdict, the court made scathing observations on the conduct of the accused policemen. It said the father and son were "stripped and ruthlessly assaulted in front of each other as an act of vendetta," adding that "the heart shudders on reading about it." The court emphasised that the case was a clear instance of abuse of authority, noting that "those who receive public money as salary cannot cite stress as a reason" for such acts. It also remarked that but for the continuous monitoring by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, "the truth would have been buried."

Terming the brutal custodial torture and subsequent death of traders as the "rarest of rare" cases, the CBI had pressed for the maximum penalty of a death sentence or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

The prosecution argued that the ghastly nature of the crime, supported by the testimonies of three direct witnesses, shocked the collective conscience of society. Highlighting the grave human rights violation, the CBI noted that the victims were subjected to merciless beatings with weapons, warranting the highest degree of punishment.

The custodial torture dates back to June 19, 2020, when Jayaraj and Benicks, who ran a mobile shop, were arrested for allegedly keeping their shop open beyond permitted hours during the lockdown, a claim later found to be false. The two were taken to the Sathankulam police station and later remanded to judicial custody. Within days, both died.

Relatives alleged that the men were assaulted through the night at the police station, pointing to injuries including rectal bleeding and other signs of severe physical abuse.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, or CBI, which later took over the probe from the state's CB-CID following directions from the Madras High Court, arrested 10 policemen in connection with the case. Those arrested included an inspector, two sub-inspectors and several constables. The agency subsequently invoked murder charges against the accused officers.

During the investigation, a key development was the testimony of a woman constable who reportedly told investigators that the father and son were assaulted overnight and that there were blood stains on tables and lathis at the station. Investigators also faced challenges, including the deletion of crucial CCTV footage from the Sathankulam police station, as recordings were allegedly set to be erased automatically each day and were not preserved.

Over 100 witnesses were examined during the trial, which spanned more than five years.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/tamil-nadu-sathankulam-9-tamil-nadu-cops-get-death-sentence-over-father-son-custodial-torture-case-11318637

‘On a razor’s edge’: Punjab and Haryana HC commutes death sentence for Ludhiana toddler’s killer, imposes 50-year jail term

By: Express News Service

Chandigarh Mar 20, 2026 03:15 PM IST

The Punjab and Haryana High Court cited borderline “rarest of rare” status, investigative gaps, and non-premeditated murder.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently commuted the death sentence of a 28-year-old man convicted of raping and murdering a toddler in Ludhiana in 2023, holding that the case fell on the borderline between the “rarest of rare” category warranting capital punishment and one deserving a lesser penalty.

In a ruling uploaded Thursday, the Division Bench comprising Justice Anoop Chitkara and Justice Sukhvinder Kaur noted that several factors weighed against the award of capital punishment. These included lingering doubts, flaws in the investigation, such as a planted extra-judicial confession, contradictions in a key witness’s testimony, and the failure to examine an important witness.

Justice Anoop Chitkara and Justice Sukhvinder Kaur

However, the bench clarified that these issues did not affect the overall finding of guilt. “It is one of those rare cases where the line that separates the categories of the ‘rarest of rare’ from ‘rare’ is on the razor’s edge,” the court said.

The court upheld the conviction but modified the punishment: life imprisonment for murder (under Section 302 IPC) with a mandatory 50 years of actual imprisonment without any remission, plus 25 years’ rigorous imprisonment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. It also imposed substantially higher fines, Rs 50 lakh for the murder charge and Rs 25 lakh under the Pocso Act, to be disbursed to the victim’s family as compensation. The crime occurred on December 28, 2023, when the young girl, fondly called Laadli by the court, was lured from her grandfather’s tea stall to a nearby house. She was sexually assaulted, strangled, and her body was hidden. The perpetrator escaped but was apprehended roughly 20 days later.

The trial court had earlier imposed the death penalty, concluding that the crime’s aggravating elements far outweighed any mitigating ones.

‘A vulnerable female’

While confirming the accused’s involvement, the High Court emphasised that the murder appeared to stem from panic to conceal the rape rather than prior planning. The court highlighted broader societal shortcomings, noting that the child’s only “fault” was that she was born a female in a vulnerable position, and questioned why society and education systems have failed to instil fundamental respect for life.“All the tell-tale signs of crime point out that she was raped and murdered because Laadli was a vulnerable female.” Calling it a “clear systemic failure,” the court said, “Somewhere between teaching and learning, our curriculum and society failed to educate… basic respect for life.”

The court avoided direct criticism of the police, prosecutors, or the trial judge but pointed to systemic issues in recruitment and integrity. The court stressed that lapses, while not sufficient to acquit, weigh heavily against an irreversible penalty like death. Adopting an incapacitation-focused approach to sentencing, the court held that society could be protected by ensuring the convict remains in custody well into old age, beyond the “sunset of his virility”, with any future release dependent on the absence of continuing risk.

In the absence of formal sentencing guidelines, the court applied a “descending scale” model of proportionality, under which younger victims warrant harsher punishment. In this case, involving a child under five, the court found that 25 years of rigorous imprisonment under the Pocso Act, along with a fine, was appropriate. The judgment reaffirmed core principles: no one should be convicted without legal representation, factual evidence must prevail over minor contradictions, and the justice system must balance punishing the guilty while protecting the innocent.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/legal-news/punjab-haryana-high-court-commutes-death-sentence-ludhiana-toddler-murder-pocso-10592196/