Madurai, April 2026 : In a landmark verdict that has once again brought the issue of custodial violence into sharp national focus, a court in Madurai on Monday sentenced nine police personnel to death in connection with the 2020 Sattankulam custodial deaths case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The First Additional District and Sessions Court pronounced the sentence after having earlier found all nine accused guilty on March 23, 2026, while reserving its decision on punishment. Delivering the final judgment, the court held that the crime fell under the \u201crarest of rare\u201d category, thereby warranting the maximum penalty under law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The case revolves around the deaths of trader P. Jayaraj (58) and his son J. Benicks (31), who died after being subjected to alleged brutal torture while in police custody in June 2020. Their deaths had sparked widespread outrage across India, leading to protests, demands for justice, and calls for police reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the sentencing proceedings, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which conducted the probe, strongly argued for capital punishment. Counsel representing the victims\u2019 family also supported this stance, emphasising the extreme brutality inflicted on the victims, who were allegedly detained over a minor violation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the prosecution, Jayaraj was picked up from his shop near a local landmark on June 19, 2020. His son Benicks later arrived at the police station after learning about his father\u2019s detention and was also taken into custody following an altercation with the officers. What followed, investigators said, was a night of severe torture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CBI\u2019s findings revealed that both victims were beaten mercilessly, subjected to inhuman treatment, and even forced to clean their own blood. The investigation further alleged that the accused attempted to cover up the crime by filing a false case and tampering with evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The probe, initially handled by the state police, was later transferred to the CBI following intervention by the Madras High Court, which took suo motu cognisance of the incident amid public outcry. The transfer was aimed at ensuring an impartial and thorough investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Originally, 10 police personnel were named as accused in the case. However, one of them, Special Sub-Inspector Pauldurai, died due to COVID-19 during the trial, leaving nine to face prosecution. The CBI filed its primary charge sheet in September 2020 and a supplementary charge sheet in August 2022, detailing evidence including witness testimonies, medical reports, and forensic analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court, after examining the evidence, concluded that the accused had intentionally inflicted fatal injuries on the victims, directly leading to their deaths. It also noted attempts to destroy evidence as an aggravating factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judgment is being seen as a significant moment in India\u2019s judicial history, reinforcing accountability within law enforcement agencies. It also serves as a strong message against custodial torture, which has long been a matter of concern for human rights advocates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The verdict is expected to have far-reaching implications, not only for the victims\u2019 families seeking justice but also for broader efforts to reform policing practices and uphold the rule of law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Madurai, April 2026 : In a landmark verdict that has once again brought the issue of custodial violence into sharp national focus, a court in Madurai on Monday sentenced nine police personnel to death in connection with the 2020 Sattankulam custodial deaths case. The First Additional District and Sessions Court pronounced the sentence after having …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":113591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[87],"post_format":[],"flags":[],"class_list":["post-113590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal-news","tag-legal"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=113590"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113592,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113590\/revisions\/113592"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/113591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=113590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=113590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=113590"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_format&post=113590"},{"taxonomy":"flags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fflags&post=113590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}