In a landmark decision, the Kerala High Court has quashed the conviction and death sentence of Gireesh Kumar, a man who had been accused of murdering a 57-year-old woman in 2013. The bench, comprising Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Syam Kumar V M, found that there was insufficient evidence to sustain the charges against Kumar or justify the capital punishment initially imposed.
The court’s judgment underscored significant lapses in the prosecution’s ability to present legally sustainable evidence, leading to Kumar’s acquittal. The justices highlighted that the circumstantial evidence presented failed conclusively to link Kumar to the crime, and the possibility that evidence and witnesses had been manipulated by police was a concern that could not be ignored.
Gireesh Kumar, who spent nearly a decade incarcerated, with most of that time under the shadow of a death sentence, was also granted compensation. The High Court ordered the state government to pay Kumar Rs 5 lakh for the undue hardship and violation of his fundamental rights, particularly the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The judgment emphasized that the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution should not be so easily undermined by flawed investigations and judicial missteps. The court noted that such miscarriages of justice not only erode public trust in the legal system but also strike at the very foundation of the rule of law that supports the republic.
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The bench further remarked on the systemic failures that led to Kumar’s prolonged wrongful imprisonment, stressing the need for accountability and redress from the state. The state has been directed to compensate Kumar within three months from the date of the judgment.
