Costly 'arithmetical' error: Juveniles spent 14 yrs in prison instead of 3, HC orders reforms

Two brothers convicted of murder along with their parents spent 14 years in prison when they should have been released within 3 years because of a grave omission on the part of authorities. The police had overlooked the fact that they were juveniles at the time of crime. They were arrested, tried and convicted as adults based on their age entered in police records. 

The High Court, in its order issued on Tuesday, called it a 'most unfortunate and regrettable event' and directed the investigating agencies and district judiciary to strictly ensure the arrestee's age through verification of authentic documents. The HC also directed the legislature to consider the inadequacy of the relevant laws on verifying the arrestee's age and take appropriate remedial measures.

The case that forced the HC to come up with these directives happened in Munnar in 2004. Sebastian alias Asaithampi, his wife Kuttiyamma and their sons Mahesh and Rajesh were named as accused in the murder of Palaniswami that happened at Santos colony, Cheruvandi estate in Munnar. The case was that Sebastian and Mahesh stabbed Palaniswami to death using chopper and knife while Rajesh and Kuttiyamma aided murder. 

The police recorded the age of Mahesh and Rajesh as 20 and 19 respectively when they were produced for remand. Both of them were 17 then, their school admission records would prove later. When the trial commenced in 2008 before the Additional Sessions court-3, Thodupuzha, no contention was raised regarding their age. In 2010, all the four accused were sentenced to life imprisonment. Though they challenged the order in HC in 2011, the appeal was dismissed in 2016.

Since 2010, Mahesh and Rajesh were incarcerated at Central prison, Poojapura and Viyyur. It was the intervention of National Legal services authority which finally revealed the omission. In January 2024, all the state legal services authorities were asked to identify prisoners in Kerala who were potentially minors at the time of commission of offence. During the inspection, Mahesh and Rajesh handed over extracts of school admission register to the Member Secretary, state legal services authority. The records indicated that both of them were minors in 2004.

An appeal was filed in the HC to recall the judgement in 2016 and it was stated that there was arithmetical error in calculating the age of the accused. The HC ordered an inquiry and in June 2024, the Additional Sessions Judge-3, Thodupuzha submitted that they were juveniles at the time of crime. This report was based on the school admission registers produced by the head of the institution. The HC ordered immediate release of brothers in July 2024. The Court also took serious note of the lapses on the part of the circle inspectors in ascertaining the actual age of the petitioners and reporting the juvenility of the offenders. The officers however said that they recorded the age based on brothers' versions and of parents and that they did not doubt the age considering their physical features.

"It is most unfortunate that the petitioners had to undergo incarceration in prison for a period of about 14 years due to the failure of the authorities concerned to take note of the fact that they were juveniles at the time of commission of the crime. If their juvenility were disclosed to the Magistrate, who conducted the enquiry, or the Additional Sessions Judge, who conducted the trial, the maximum period of detention they would have to undergo in some observation homes would have been three years," the division bench comprising Raja Vijayaraghavan and G Girish noted in the order. 

"All through the legal course of the case, an omission was committed regarding their age. As per Juvenile justice act 2000, they would have been released within 3 years which means they were forced to spend an excess of 11 years," said Advocate Ramesh P who represented Mahesh and Rajesh. 

Both Rajesh and Mahesh moved to Marayur with their families after they were released. They stay in the same place where they had lived together in 2004 when the incident happened. Relatives of Palaniswami had partially torched their house following his murder. The brothers make a living from farming on small parcel of land that belongs to their father. 

"It was a mistake at our young age. When our father is on parole, he visits family of Palaniswami. We lost our youthful years because we were not aware about the provision. I learnt cooking when I was in jail. My dream is to start a catering business. I plan to earn money from the farmland to realize my dream.The house needs to be repaired," said Rajesh. His parents were recently out on parole and brothers went to Nettukalthery prison in Thiruvananthapuram to take their parents home. They returned to prison a month ago. Kuttiyamma has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court for remission of sentence.