Palakkad, July 20
The Palakkad Additional Sessions Court in Kerala on Monday sentenced Chenthamara to death for the sensational Nenmara double murder, holding that the convict posed a continuing threat to society and showed no possibility of reform.
The court pronounced the sentence after hearing detailed arguments from both the prosecution and the defence.
The prosecution had pressed for the maximum punishment, contending that the brutality of the crime and the conduct of the accused squarely placed the case in the rarest of rare category.
In its observations, the court noted that Chenthamara had earlier declared that if he was released again, he would kill others as well, adding, "I am not Gandhi".
According to the court, the accused had also stated, "I will not go looking for trouble. But if someone comes at me, I will not spare them."
Although a counselling report submitted after court-directed sessions indicated that the accused had later spoken differently, the court found no convincing evidence of genuine remorse or reformation.
Rejecting any plea of mental incapacity, the court said psychological and psychiatric evaluations had clearly established that Chenthamara did not suffer from any mental illness.
The accused had claimed that he committed the murders after being provoked.
However, the court categorically rejected the contention, observing that there had been no provocation from the victims.
While Chenthamara reportedly expressed regret before the defence counsel over the plight of the daughter of one of the victims, Sudhakaran, the court held that this did not amount to repentance for the murders themselves.
Monday’s verdict also states that Rs 20 lakh should be given to the daughter of Sudhakaran, and it should be realised from selling the property of the killer.
The judgment emphasised that while courts ordinarily examine the possibility of reform before awarding capital punishment, no such possibility existed in the present case.
Referring to judicial precedents, the court observed that the death penalty could be imposed where a convict remains a danger to society.
It further noted that Chenthamara had committed the murders while out on bail, demonstrating complete disregard for the law.
The District Probation Officer's report also concluded that the convict was likely to commit similar offences again.
Holding that Sudhakaran's children continued to face a threat from the accused and that he had shown no remorse for the killings, the court concluded that the case merited the death penalty.
Pushpa, one of the key witnesses who was forced to flee from her home for fear of the killer, expressed happiness that the death penalty has been handed and she can now think of returning from Tamil Nadu, where she lives now, to her home town in Palakkad.
The verdict brings to a close the trial in one of Kerala's most gruesome revenge killings.
Chenthamara was charged with the murders of Sudhakaran and his 75-year-old mother, Lakshmi, at Pothundi in Palakkad district on January 27, 2025. The murders were the culmination of a vendetta that began in 2019, when Chenthamara hacked to death his neighbour Sajitha, blaming her for the breakdown of his marriage.
