Chennai: “The son, the hapless and innocent as he was, earned the enmity of his evil incarnate father, just because of his efforts in eroding the chances of erotic encounters of his father with his elusive life partner, whose cause and concern the son believed in espousing. Thus, the son exposed his own life to fatality, fit enough to be a sacrifice, sufficient to save his mother from her tormentor for a considerable period, but not sufficient to save his own life,” said Justice S. Vimala of Madras High Court while upholding the life sentence awarded to the father by the lower court.
Dismissing the appeal filed by convict Thangavel, Justice Vimala said it is a rarest of rare case, where more severe sentence would have been appropriate. However, when the appeal is heard at this distant point of time, it may not be fair to enhance the sentence at this stage, the judge added.
According to the prosecution, the convict was an alcoholic and would sexually abuse his wife, whenever he was inebriated. Even twice or thrice in a single day, he used to have sex with his wife, in a normal way as well as in an abnormal way and also unmindful of the presence of his children. The convict was also interested in having oral sex with his wife. The midnight quarrel reached the ears of the son and daughters at home and the son used to question the conduct of the accused. The relationship was not cordial between the accused and the deceased. On September 18, 2010, when the deceased was sleeping, the accused murdered him.
On a complaint given by the wife, the police registered a case and the accused was arrested. The trial court convicted and sentenced him to undergo life imprisonment.
Justice Vimala said the evidence of witnesses, including that of his wife, show that the accused was an alcoholic and often fought with his wife. The father had animosity towards his son, as the deceased wanted to save the mother. The evidence also indicates domestic violence and marital rape suffered by the wife.
Point out that no compensation has been awarded to the victim, who has been doubly victimized on account of death of the son as well as incarceration of the husband, while the victim has to maintain two minor daughters, the judge recommended that the District Legal Services Authority, Tirunelveli to conduct an enquiry and award compensation not less than '3 lakh to the victim. Similarly, the judge also directed the District Child Protection Society to provide monthly financial assistance to each of the child for pursuing their education up to the age of 19 years.
