Kochi: The death sentence awarded to Chenthamara in the sensational Nenmara double murder case has taken the total number of death row convicts lodged across Kerala’s prisons to 38. However, executions remain an absolute rarity in the state, with the last judicial hanging carried out over three decades ago.
Prison authorities informed that death row inmates are currently housed across Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur, Viyyur, and Thavannur central and other high-security prisons. Three female convicts sentenced to capital punishment are currently housed at the Thiruvananthapuram Women’s Prison. “Except for certain specific security privileges, death row convicts are generally treated like other life-term convicts in prison,” a senior prison official noted.
However, the capital punishment awarded by a trial court is not immediately final. As per existing law, every death sentence awarded by a trial court must be mandatorily referred to the High Court for confirmation through a Death Sentence Reference (DSR). Advocate C P Udayabhanu explained that the High Court simultaneously hears the DSR alongside the statutory appeal filed by the convict. “The High Court meticulously examines whether the conviction is legally sustainable and whether the maximum sentence imposed is fully justified. If it finds sufficient legal grounds for awarding capital punishment, it confirms both the conviction and the sentence. It also retains full powers to acquit the accused, modify the conviction, or commute the sentence to life imprisonment,” he stated.
Legal experts point out that a large majority of death sentences awarded by trial courts are either commuted or set aside during the appellate process. According to Udayabhanu, trial courts can sometimes be influenced by the sheer brutality of the crime, the nature of injuries inflicted, and the suffering caused to the victims’ families—factors that are later re-assessed objectively by appellate courts on settled legal principles.
Former state police chief Jacob Punnoose highlighted that there is no precise, rigid legal definition for the “rarest of rare” doctrine, which governs the award of capital punishment in India. “A sessions judge tries numerous murder cases. The court weighs multiple critical factors such as whether the crime was premeditated or conspiratorial, whether there was prior planning, the degree of brutality involved, and the circumstances under which the intention to kill arose. These are among the key factors weighed while deciding whether a case warrants the death penalty,” he explained.
മലയാളം ലഘു വിവരണം
നെന്മാറ ഇരട്ടക്കൊലക്കേസിൽ പ്രതി ചെന്താമരയ്ക്ക് വധശിക്ഷ വിധിച്ചതോടെ കേരളത്തിലെ ജയിലുകളിൽ വധശിക്ഷ കാത്തിരിക്കുന്നവരുടെ എണ്ണം 38 ആയി ഉയർന്നു. എങ്കിലും മൂന്ന് പതിറ്റാണ്ടിലേറെയായി സംസ്ഥാനത്ത് വധശിക്ഷ നടപ്പാക്കിയിട്ടില്ല. വിചാരണക്കോടതി വിധികൾ ഹൈക്കോടതിയുടെ ഉറപ്പിനും അപ്പീൽ ഘട്ടങ്ങൾക്കും വിധേയമായതിനാൽ ‘അപൂർവ്വങ്ങളിൽ അപൂർവ്വം’ എന്ന മാനദണ്ഡം പുനഃപരിശോധിച്ച് മിക്ക ശിക്ഷകളും ഇളവ് ചെയ്യപ്പെടാറാണ് പതിവ്.
(With inputs from TNIE)
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