Activist Kausalya has urged the Tamil Nadu government to take all-out efforts to ensure that the appeal preferred in the Supreme Court against the Madras High Court judgment in the Udumalpet honour killing case is listed for further hearing early.
Survivor of Udumalpet honour killing writes to CM
She urges Stalin to ensure T.N.’s appeal preferred in SC against Madras HC judgment is listed for further hearing early; Kathir of Evidence urges govt to give more attention to the case
Kausalya, survivor of the Udumalpet honour killing, during an interaction with The Hindu in Madurai on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: R. Ashok
Ms. Kausalya said Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, when he was in the opposition in 2020, offered support to her and assured her that justice would be rendered. She urged the State government to take necessary steps in this regard.
In 2016, V. Shankar, a Scheduled Caste youth, and Kausalya, a Caste Hindu, were attacked by a gang with lethal weapons in Udumalpet in Tiruppur district after they got married against the wishes of Kausalya’s family.
Shankar succumbed to injuries. A year later, the Principal District and Sessions Court in Tiruppur awarded death sentence to six persons, including B. Chinnasamy, the father of Kausalya, and different jail terms to two other accused.
In 2020, the Madras High Court acquitted the prime accused, Chinnasamy, and commuted the death sentence of five others to life sentence. The Tamil Nadu government preferred an appeal in the Supreme Court against the judgment the same year.
Ms. Kausalya said it was nearly three years since the Supreme Court admitted the criminal appeal preferred by the State, but the appeal was not taken up for further hearing.
Mr. Kathir, executive director of Evidence, a non-governmental organisation fighting for the cause of Dalits, said the State government had to give more attention to the case, which had been pending in the same stage for nearly three years. The government had not taken strong efforts to get the matter listed for further hearing. The seriousness of the case should be considered. Otherwise, it could encourage the offenders, he added.
In a letter sent to the Chief Minister, Ms. Kausalya narrated the horrific incident leading to the death of Shankar and the case before the trial court and the Madras High Court. She urged the Chief Minister to extend support. The government should show special attention and urgency in the case, she said.