The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has upheld life sentences for 26 convicts in the 2018 Kachanatham caste murders case, while acquitting one accused, Ilayaraja, in a verdict delivered on Thursday. The decision came from a Division Bench comprising Justices G.K. Ilanthiraiyan and R. Poornima, which dismissed the criminal appeals filed by 26 of the convicts challenging their convictions and life imprisonment. The court allowed the appeal of Ilayaraja, leading to his acquittal.
The ruling reaffirms the trial court's 2022 judgment, which had sentenced all 27 accused—members of a dominant intermediate caste—to life terms under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including murder, and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The brutal incident occurred on the night of May 28, 2018, in Kachanatham village near Tiruppachetty. An armed group from Avarangadu and surrounding areas entered the village around 9:15 p.m. and launched an indiscriminate attack stemming from tensions over a temple festival and related caste disputes. Three Scheduled Caste men—K. Arumugam (65), A. Shanmuganathan (31), and V. Chandrasekar (34)—were hacked to death with weapons such as knives and sickles. Several others sustained grievous injuries during the assault, which highlighted persistent caste-based violence in the region.
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In August 2022, the Special Court for Exclusive Trial of Cases under the SC/ST (PoA) Act in Sivaganga convicted all 27 accused following a trial that drew attention for its scale—one of the largest group convictions in such cases in Tamil Nadu. The murders shocked the state and underscored ongoing challenges of caste inequality and atrocities against Dalit communities, despite legal safeguards.
The High Court's confirmation of the sentences for 26 individuals brings a measure of closure to the long-pending case, with authorities emphasizing the importance of strict enforcement of anti-atrocity laws to deter similar incidents. The acquittal of one person was based on the appellate review of evidence presented during the hearings. Legal observers note that this verdict reinforces judicial commitment to addressing caste-motivated crimes in rural Tamil Nadu.
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