Kannagi-Murugesan case: Death sentence commuted by Madras High Court

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday commuted the death sentence awarded by a trial court to the prime accused in the gruesome Kannagi-Murugesan caste killing case to a life term and confirmed the life sentence imposed on nine others. The court also acquitted two people of all charges.

The inter-caste couple Murugesan, a member of an SC community, and Kannagi, belonging to the Vanniyar community were brutally murdered by Kannagi’s relatives in 2003. Eighteen years later, on September 25, 2021, a Cuddalore special court sentenced D Maruthupandian, Kannagi’s brother, to death.

A division bench of Justice PN Prakash and AA Nakkiran allowed the appeals of convicts Rangasamy and Chinnadurai, and acquitted them of all charges, while partly allowing an appeal of Tamilmaran, a former sub-inspector of police, setting aside his life sentence and reducing the sentence to two years in prison, on lesser charges.

However, the bench dismissed the appeals of the nine other convicts, including Kannagi’s father C Duraisamy, confirming their conviction as well as the life sentence awarded by a special court in Cuddalore for cases registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. “The double murder was brutal and against humanity. The punishment would act as a warning to those practising caste-based hatred,” the trial court had said while delivering the judgment. 

CBI filed 690-page chargesheet in ’09

On May 5, 2003, S Murugesan and D Kannagi got married against her parent’s wishes. Both were from Puthukkooraippettai village in Cuddalore district. A month later, on June 7, 2003, the girl’s family forced the couple to drink poison and burned them in full public view.

The probe was transferred to the CBI, which filed a 690-page chargesheet in 2009. Murugesan was a chemical engineer and D Kannagi had studied BCom. As per the case details, Murugesan was tied to a pole near a temple at Puthukooraipettai and beaten by Maruthupandian and his supporters to reveal Kannagi’s whereabouts.

According to the police, Duraisamy, Maruthupandian, and two others poisoned Kannagi as they were angry over her inter-caste marriage. Similarly, Samikannu, Ayyasami, and two others poisoned Murugesan.