SC Acquits ‘Killer Thiayagu’ Of Murder Charges Reversing HC/Trial Court Findings [Read Order]

Holds him guilty of causing knife injury on the leg of the deceased.

The Supreme Court has acquitted one ‘Killer Thiayagu’ of murder charges, reversing the concurrent findings of trial court and the Madras High Court which had held him guilty for murdering a real estate broker.

The high court had already acquitted other three co-accused, who had been convicted by the trial court, while upholding the conviction recorded against Thiayagu. The conviction was on the basis of evidence given by the sole eye-witness, who was brother of the deceased.

The main contention urged on behalf of Thiayagu before the apex court bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi was whether in view of the acquittal of other accused by the high court, the conviction of Thiayagu under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code would be tenable in law, which it answered in favour of the accused.

The court, though, observed that it is not necessary that all such persons should be named and identified before the liability under Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code can be invoked, held that, in the present case, prosecution had no case that apart from the other three accused, there were other persons who had acted in concert in commission of the crime. “The persons alleged to have participated in the crime with A-1 had been acquitted by the High Court. If that be so, the A-1 could not have been convicted of the offence of murder with the aid of Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code,” the bench said.

The court however, held Thiayagu, guilty of causing a knife injury on the leg of the deceased. But in view of the fact that he has already been in jail for seven years, he was not sentenced to any further imprisonment.

Read the order here.