KOCHI: The Ernakulam CBI Special court on Wednesday sentenced Puthenvelikkara murder accused Jayanandan to death by hanging. The court also awarded him two seven-year rigorous imprisonments and a fine of `75,000 in three other offences.The court further held that the imprisonment shall run concurrently. It, however, held that the sentence of death should not be executed unless it is confirmed by the Kerala High Court. Special court judge Jose Thomas awarded death sentence by considering the case as “rarest of the rare”.“The accused had committed murder in an extremely brutal and diabolical manner for money.... While committing robbery, the accused committed a murder of a helpless woman, who was sleeping in her house. The accused then chopped off her wrist and robbed six gold bangles. So this is not an ordinary crime committed in a fit of anger or any spur-of-the moment provocation. Hence, he deserves harsh punishment,” the court held.The court also observed that it will be a disgrace to the Judiciary if the accused is given a lesser punishment. It would be a mockery of justice, and the common man will not have faith in courts, it added. Jayanandan alias Jayan of Mala had murdered Baby alias Devaki, a 51-year-old housewife, and attacked her husband Ramakrishnan. The incident took place on October 2, 2006. After committing the murder, the suspect sprayed kerosene at the place of crime and left after letting the cooking gas on. The prosecution argued that maximum punishment should be given to the accused.“The murder was pre-planned. The injuries on the body of the deceased and other evidence revealed that Jayanandan committed the murder in a brutal manner. The accused is undergoing life imprisonment in another murder case and he is a habitual offender. He is also threat to the society,” Prosecutor Advocate P G Manu argued.However, counsel for Jayanandan submitted that it may not be proper to award death sentence on the basis of circumstantial evidence. To that, the court said the prosecution had succeeded to probe beyond all rescind doubts. The accused had been found guilty of house-trespass, voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery and attempt to murder.The Thrissur Principal Sessions Court had earlier awarded death sentence to Jayanandan in Perinjanam double murder case. Perinjanam Kovilakam Kalapurackkal Sahadevan and his wife Nirmala were murdered on October 4, 2004. Considering Jayanandan’s appeal, the High Court had changed the sentence to life imprisonment. He was also an accused in five other murder case, but acquitted following trial.
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