Madras High Court today upheld the death sentence awarded by a Mahila Court in Coimbatore in 2012 to a 27-year-old man, who was convicted in the kidnap and murder of a 10-year-old girl and her brother after raping her.
A division bench comprising justices S Rajeswaran and P N Prakash confirmed the death sentence awarded to Manoharan by Mahila Court, Coimbatore, on November 1, 2012.
Manoharan, the lone surviving accused in the sensational case, was sentenced to death by the Mahila Court Judge M P Subramanian for murdering the girl and her seven-year-old brother after raping her, holding that it would not be fair to show any mercy going by the gravity of the offence.
"The highest punishment of death is essential to instil confidence and sense of safety in the minds of the society," the judge had said.
According to prosecution, Manoharan along with prime accused Mohanakrishnan, former van driver of the children, had abducted the siblings on October 29, 2010 with the aim of demanding ransom from their father, a textile merchant.
However, they raped the girl and murdered her and also her brother who was a witness to the crime. They later threw the bodies in a canal near Pollachi. Mohanakrishnan was shot dead by police in an alleged encounter when he tried to escape after his arrest.
"Considering the gravity of the offence committed, it would not be fair on the part of law to show any mercy," the Mahila Court judge had said.
When Manoharan said that he was sentenced for an offence not committed by him and how he can accept the sentence, the judge had told him he could go for an appeal in higher court.
The judge had convicted Manoharan under Sections of IPC 20 B (conspiracy), 364 A (abduction for ransom), 376 (2) (f) (g)(gang rape and rape of a girl less than 12-years-old), 302 (murder) and 201 (concealment of evidence).
