Tamil Nadu Man Who Pushed Ex-Girlfriend In Front Of Train Won't Be Hanged

The Madras High Court has commuted to life term, the death sentence of a man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend by pushing her before a train here in 2022.

D Sathish had pushed the woman, a student, on the track at St Thomas Mount here after she disowned him. Before she got up, a train ran over her.

A division bench comprising Justices N Sathish Kumar and M Jothiraman passed the order on Thursday while partly allowing an appeal filed by the accused.

The bench directed that the appellant/accused shall not be entitled for any statutory remission or commutation until he serves incarceration for a period of 20 years.

The motive of pushing the deceased on the railway track, particularly on noticing that the train was entering the railway station has also been clearly established. The accused had "love affair" with the deceased, a fact which has been clearly established not only by prosecution witnesses but also by the evidence of others who have been examined to prove the previous complaints given against the accused that he was stalking her and giving trouble, the bench said.

He had created ruckus in front of the college where the victim was studying. Therefore, the motive on the part of the accused to commit the crime by eliminating the deceased in view of the fact that she disowned him, has been clearly established, it added.

The bench said it was clear from the analysis of the deposition of witnesses and the materials found that only the accused had pushed the deceased in a fit of rage due to the failure in love affair as she had disowned him.

The bench said on a perusal of the entire evidence and also looking at the manner in which the accused pushed her and was waiting in the railway station not only on the occurrence date but also on the previous day, "this court is of the view that the accused has meticulously executed his plan of doing away (with) the deceased." "Therefore, his act will not fall within the ambit of any of the exceptions as contended by the senior counsel appearing for the accused".

Sathish was certainly liable for punishment under section 302 of IPC (death penalty). Accordingly, the charge against the accused under section 302 of IPC has been clearly established, the bench added.

The bench said no doubt, the accused had decided to eliminate the woman. At the same time, it was pertinent to note that it was the choice of a woman to select her spouse. Merely because the deceased girl disowned him will not give licence to the accused to take away her life.

Due to her death, the woman's father had committed suicide and her mother who was suffering from cancer also died. The entire family of the deceased was devastated and shattered due to the act of the accused. The act of the accused clearly indicates that he was mentally and emotionally disturbed due to frustration on account of the failure of his relationship with the deceased, the bench added.

The court said that considering the age of the accused and also taking note of the fact that he has no bad antecedents prior to the occurrence, the possibility of his reformation was higher. He has better chance of being reformed. The very sentencing policy itself was only for reformative justice and not retributive justice, the bench added.

The bench said considering the reports of the Probation Officer and the Superintendent of Prisons and considering the entire occurrence which was due to frustration of the accused because of love failure, "we are of the view that the death sentence is not warranted and if life imprisonment is awarded, that will meet the ends of justice". 

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