Alappuzha: The Mavelikara Additional Sessions Court has awarded death sentence to all 15 accused Popular Front of India (PFI) terrorists in the murder case of BJP leader Adv Ranjith Srinivasan.
Public Prosecutor Adv Prathap G Padickal described this verdict as one of the rarest in the history of the justice system in post-independence India. He noted that it is the first time in the country’s history that all accused involved in a murder case have been given the death sentence.
The prosecution views this as a proud verdict, with all evidence submitted to the court thoroughly considered. Adv Prathap G Padickal stated that the court accepted the prosecution’s argument that this is an exceptionally rare case, leading to the death penalty for all the accused.
The court upheld the prosecution’s argument that the 15 PFI terrorists planned and prepared a ‘hit list’ chart in advance to murder Adv. Ranjith Srinivasan. They trespassed the victim’s house in the morning and brutally attacked him in front of his wife and children. The prosecution successfully submitted evidence supporting these claims.
All the accused were members of PFI and SDPI. The prosecution argued that the accused charged under Section 149 of IPC, which demonstrating that physical presence at the crime spot is not necessary, but rather an unlawful assembly for conspiracy.
As per the Section 149 of IPC, that if any member of an unlawful assembly/ gathering commits an offense as part of the group’s common goal or something the members expected to happen during the pursuit of that goal, every person in the assembly at the time of the offense is considered guilty.
The court considered this aspect while awarding the death sentence to all the convicts.
The 10th accused, currently undergoing medical treatment and not present in court, faces similar charges as the other accused. Therefore, all accused listed in the charge sheet were sentenced to death.
Accused 1 to 9 and 11 to 15 received six months imprisonment under Section 143 IPC. Additionally, accused 1 to 9 and accused 11 and 12 were sentenced to two years imprisonment under Section IPC 147. These same accused, charged under IPC 148, were given three years of imprisonment.
The court pronounced that accused 1 to 8 serve ‘rigorous imprisonment for life’ and pay a fine of Rs. 1 lakh. Accused 1, 5, 9, 11, and 12 received a two-year sentence. Accused 1 to 8 were sentenced to seven years under Section 506 (2).
Accused 1 to 9, 11, 12, and 15 received 7 years imprisonment and a Rs 1 lakh penalty. Alongside the death penalty, the court awarded accused 13 to 15 an additional 7 years imprisonment and Rs 1 lakh penalty. Accused 8 received 3 years imprisonment and a Rs 5000 penalty. Of the penalty amount, Rs 6 lakh must be handed over to the family of Adv Ranjith Srinivasan, the prosecutor said to the media.
All the convicted accused, including Navas, Shemeer, Naseer, Zakeer Hussain, Shaji Poovathungal, Shernas Ashraf, Naizam, Ajmal, Anoop, Muhammed Aslam, Salam Ponnad, Abdul Kalam, Safarudheen, Munshad, Jaseeb Raja, and Shemeer, who were found guilty in the case, were sentenced to death by the Mavelikara Additional Sessions Court. The incident took place on December 19, 2021, at Ranjith Srinivasan’s residence in Vellakkinar, Alappuzha, where armed PFI terrorists brutally murdered him in front of his wife and mother.
A detailed argument of the case and the evidence produced by Adv. Prathap G Padickal led to the verdict for all the accused mentioned in the charge sheet.
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