Supreme Court commutes death sentence to Govindaswamy

Supreme Court of India has commuted the death sentence of Govindaswamy, accused in the Soumya murder case.

The Court upheld the life sentence awarded by the trial court, and confirmed by High Court, for rape.

The Court observed that the rape was committed in a most brutal and grotesque manner which justified the imposition of life sentence awarded to him.

Citing the DNA evidence, the Court observed that there was no doubt that the accused committed the rape.

Govindaswamy had attacked the girl while she was travelling from her workplace in Ernakulam to home at Shornur. According to the prosecution, the accused had pushed her out of the train and raped her near the railway track. She had sustained serious injuries in the fall from the train.

However, the Court came to the conclusion that murder charge against the accused could not be confirmed because the causes of death cited by the prosecution could not be proved to be inflicted by the accused with the intention to murder her.

The first cause of death was a combination of the injuries that resulted from Govindaswamy hitting her head forcibly against a hard flat surface of the compartment wall and her fall from the train. There was conflict between oral evidence and forensic evidence as to whether the girl jumped out of the train or whether Govindaswamy had pushed her out of the train.

The other cause of death was aspiration of blood into air passages (and resulting anoxic brain damage) which could have been caused by the victim being kept in a supine position for sexual assault. However, the accused could be liable for murder only if the accused had the intention to cause death or the knowledge that keeping her in supine position would lead to her death.

The Court observed that the attack on the girl by the accused would attract Section 325 of IPC (causing grievous hurt), though section 302 (murder) could not hold out to be made out against the accused.

Setting aside the death sentence for murder, the Court sentenced Govindaswamy for seven years of rigorous imprisonment for causing grievous hurt and upheld sentences for other offenses such as robbery of the victims mobile phone. The sentences will run concurrently.

Initial reports about the verdict had said that the original sentence had been commuted to seven years of rigorous imprisonment. However, the full text of the verdict released in the afternoon showed that the Court had left the punishment for rape unchanged.

Full text of verdict (PDF)