Kochi: The Kerala High Court has commuted the death penalty imposed upon Thomas Chacko (aka Shibu) of Keekozhur, Ranni, to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment without remission for murdering his nephews aged 3 and 7 over a property dispute. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh upon the accused which shall be paid to the mother of the deceased children.

The division bench comprising Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Syam Kumar V M observed that the constitutional courts have the power to substitute the death penalty imposed by the trial court to imprisonment for a fixed term without remission in appropriate cases.

The court was dealing with Shibu's appeal and the session's court reference for confirmation of the sentence. "We cannot lose sight of the heinous crime committed by the appellant/accused against two innocent children aged 7 and 3. The brutal manner in which the crime was committed on the children, who were the children of his own brother and in relation to whom he occupied a position of trust, certainly warrants a harsh punishment,"

"Taking cue from the judgments of the Supreme Court which empower a constitutional court to substitute the death sentence imposed by the trial court with a fixed term sentence without remission, we feel that on the facts and circumstances in the instant case, a sentence of rigorous imprisonment for a period of 30 years without remission would serve the ends of justice,” the court said in its judgement.

The horrible incident happened on October 27, 2013. Melbin, 7, was playing in front of the house around 7.30 am when Shibu stabbed him with a knife. He threw chilli powder in his sister-in-law's face when she tried to stop him and went on to kill Mebin, 3, inside the house.
The police had conducted a flawless investigation that helped the trial court give maximum punishment.

Shibu had confessed to the killings during the trial. The probe team proved that the murder was premeditated. as Shibu had kept diesel ready in his vehicle to set the house on fire. The knife used in killing the minors was bought from Ranni. They could also prove vendetta with the property case.
(Inputs from Live Law)