High Court sentences rapist and murderer of Dalit girl to death, Supreme Court stays execution by seeking character certificate

Delhi News: The Supreme Court has stayed the death sentence of accused Amirul Islam in the case of rape and murder of a law student in Perumbavoor, Kerala. The Supreme Court has put this stay on the petition of Amirul Islam challenging the decision of the Kerala High Court. The High Court had sentenced the accused to death after considering all the facts.

Leo Brown

The recent order was issued by a bench headed by Justice BR Gavai of the Supreme Court. The court also directed that the mental health and character certificate of the accused be submitted. A special board has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Superintendent of Thrissur Medical College, which will conduct a psychological evaluation of the accused and submit a medical report.

The court has also directed that reports be made available from the jails where Amirul Islam is kept. The stay will remain in effect until a final decision is taken in the case. The Supreme Court has also directed that the jail superintendent be informed of the stay order through the advocate of the state government.

The Supreme Court will hear further arguments only after receiving the state government’s response and other relevant documents related to the case. The court has directed both the High Court and the trial court to provide all the documents related to the case.

What was the 2016 Jisha murder case?

From the year 2016 till now, the Kerala High Court and the Ernakulam Sessions Court heard the Jisha murder case. The case was registered on the basis of an FIR lodged by the Kuruppambadi police station. According to the court document, Jisha, a 30-year-old law student belonging to the Dalit community, was found dead in her house near the Periyar Valley Canal in Perumbavoor, Ernakulam on 28 April 2016. The protest of her classmates at the Government Law College in Ernakulam helped the case move forward significantly.

Kerala Police arrested the accused Ameer-ul-Islam. On December 12, 2017, the Ernakulam Sessions Court convicted the accused of murder and rape under the IPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment. However, on May 20, 2024, the Kerala High Court modified the sentence to death. According to the FIR lodged at the Kuruppambadi police station on April 29, 2016, Jisha, a 30-year-old law student, was found dead at her residence near the Periyarvalli canal in Perumbavoor, Ernakulam. The deceased’s mother saw the woman’s body and gathered the neighbours, shouting for help.

The front door of the house was locked from inside. The sub-inspector, who was on patrol, entered through the back door. The victim was lying in the middle of the room, partially naked and bleeding profusely. The deceased had multiple stab wounds and her stomach was also ripped open. The police collected evidence from the scene and sent the body for postmortem, which revealed that the woman died between 12 pm and 9 pm on April 28, 2016. The postmortem examination also revealed that the woman had 38 wounds on her body. The deceased was most likely raped and had sustained injuries while attempting to resist these attacks.

The body also showed signs of strangulation. Death was caused by a combination of strangulation, asphyxiation and haemorrhage. According to the report, the doctor who conducted the postmortem, Dr Liza John, confirmed evidence of sexual assault. The investigating police identified the accused as Ameer-ul-Islam and registered a case against him under Judicial First Class Magistrate, Kuruppambady. The complaint was filed under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, claiming that the accused had committed an offence punishable under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. On June 16, 2016, nearly two months after the incident, Kerala police arrested Ameer-ul-Islam, a 22-year-old migrant labourer from Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu.

The prosecution said that when the victim resisted the attempt, the accused, in frustration, brutally stabbed her, one of the injuries being deep in her genitals, which was caused by repeated stabbings in her vagina, causing a small portion of her internal organs to come out of the body. The accused sneaked out from the back door, walked towards the canal and threw the knife aside.

After examining nearly 100 witnesses, the court considered 291 evidences. After a long trial, the court awarded death penalty to the accused, which was upheld by the Kerala High Court, but now the Supreme Court has stayed it and sought a certificate on the mental health and character of the accused.

Courtesy : Hindii News