SC commutes Death Sentence Of Man Convicted Of Murdering His Own Family

New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, commuted the death penalty of a man – convicted of murdering his wife and four children and even raping his own daughter – to life. Raji Kumar alias Reji, of Kerala, was awarded a death sentence in 2010 by a trial court for murdering his wife Lissy and four children, aged 12, 10, 9 and 3, and raping his eldest daughter before killing her.
In 2014, the Kerala High Court upheld the sentence and observed: “Here, the evidence is conclusive enough to hold that the appellant had no repentance at all.”
The Supreme Court bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta, however, noted that the convict showed ‘significant improvement’ in his conduct during his imprisonment. The court noted that he did not have any criminal history, was given responsibilities by jail authorities, and donated Rs 83,000 to various causes involving the bail of fellow prisoners.
The Court also took into account his childhood trauma due to neglect and family instability, and psychological reports. “Considering the facts that the convict-appellant had no prior antecedents, good conduct for the past 16-17 years of incarceration, difficulties in mental health, and consistent efforts at being a model prisoner, we find that the imposition of the death penalty would be unjustified. He is, therefore, removed from death row,” the Supreme Court observed.
“However, considering the severity of the crime, the number of persons killed, that out of five, four were his own children, we are of the view that he does not deserve to be set free and direct that he shall spend the remainder of his days in jail, till his last breath, hoping to do acts of penance to atone for the crimes he has committed and particularly for the fact that he extinguished four bright flames….The death sentence is commuted to life imprisonment till the end of natural life,” the Court stated in its order.
Reji, a chemistry graduate with a diploma in computer applications, worked as an agricultural labourer. In the course of his employment, he developed intimate relations with a woman named Usha. Besides, he suspected his wife of infidelity and believed that the youngest daughter was not his.