Court upholds life term of man who killed 6-yr-old son

Madurai: Observing that there is no medical record to show that a man was suffering from schizophrenia, the Madras high court confirmed the conviction and life sentence awarded by the trial court to him for murdering his 6-year-old son in Tirunelveli in 2014.
The deceased Sureshkannan is the son of the appellant Sakthivel. On March 29, 2014, Sakthivel stabbed his son to death using a knife and also injured his 7-year-old daughter Sakthikala who tried to prevent the attack.When Sakthivel’s wife Rajakali and son Rajavel attempted to stop him, he caused injuries on himself using the knife.
A case was registered by the Kadayam police who arrested Sakthivel. The additional district and sessions court in Tirunelveli convicted and sentenced Sakthivel to undergo life imprisonment under IPC section 302 in 2018.
A division bench of Justice T Raja and Justice B Pugalendhi said that the defendant’s counsel relied on a medical certificate issued by a psychiatrist at the Tirunelveli medical college hospital in 2019, which stated he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and hence had committed the offence without his knowledge.
The judges said that the doctor who treated the appellant at the Tenkasi government hospital stated that he was conscious and answering questions. The judges said that Rajakali and her children who are witnesses in the case denied that the appellant was taking any treatment for mental illness.
The judges observed that as per IPC section 84, the act of a person of unsound mind is not an offence. Since no medical records were placed before this court stating that the appellant had taken treatment for any mental illness prior to the incident, the judges said the appellant is not eligible for exemption.