Madras High Court Upholds Conviction in College Murder Case
The Madras High Court has sustained the conviction and life imprisonment sentence of Udayakumar, who was found guilty of murdering Sonali, a female engineering student, inside her classroom. This ruling was delivered by a bench comprising Justices N Anand Venkatesh and KK Ramakrishnan, in the case of Udaykumar v. State.
Udayakumar, the appellant, appealed against the decision of a Karur court which had convicted him for the murder of Sonali, a third-year civil engineering student at Karur College of Engineering. The court noted that the crime stemmed from Udayakumar’s inability to accept Sonali’s decision to end their relationship.
In its judgment, the Court expressed concern over the increasing number of violent responses to relationship rejections, stating, “It has become a trend in recent times where a boy, who gets rejected in a relationship, thinks that a girl is bound to continue with the relationship failing which he will be justified in even killing the girl.”
According to the prosecution, Udayakumar and Sonali had a close relationship which Sonali decided to end. On August 30, 2016, Udayakumar entered her classroom around 10:30 AM and attacked her with a wooden log. The assault was so severe that it led to Sonali’s demise at Apollo Hospital, Madurai. An assistant professor who attempted to intervene also suffered injuries.
Udayakumar was convicted under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 449, 294(b), 324, 302, and 506(II), and sentenced to life imprisonment.
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Court Criticism of the Investigation
The Court criticized the investigation, particularly doubting the prosecution’s claim regarding the recovery of the weapon, which was allegedly found in a bush post-arrest. Witnesses, however, testified that the wooden log was dropped in the classroom. Despite these inconsistencies, the bench concluded that this did not undermine the credibility of the prosecution’s case, due to corroboration from the injured witness and medical evidence.
Justices Venkatesh and Ramakrishnan also expressed disappointment towards students who turned hostile despite reportedly witnessing the attack. “There is no use in merely expressing dissent and expressing views in social media and it has to translate itself into action,” the Court stated, lamenting that the students failed their duty to support the truth and justice for the deceased.
Senior Advocate Abudu Kumar Rajarathinam, assisted by Advocate KM Karunakaran, represented the appellant, while State counsel D Venkatesh appeared for the prosecution.
