Sanika Deshpande-
Published On: October 31, 2021 at 18:34 IST.
The Madras High Court set aside triple life sentences which were awarded to a CISF constable who shot dead three of his colleagues at the Kalpakkam Atomic Power Plant in 2014.
The High Court invoked a rare exemption under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the crimes committed by people with unsound minds.
A Division Bench of Justice P. N. Prakash and Justice R. N. Manjula was invoked on October 29th.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Vijay Pratap Singh, who was ahead constable, has been found to have suffered from chronic schizophrenia since the year 2012.
Earlier, the Additional District and Sessions Judge of Chengalpet failed to recognize the facts about his mental illness and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
“That, however, is not the end of the matter. An accused who is acquitted by taking recourse to the exception under Section 84 IPC cannot be allowed to go Scot-free and be unleashed on society,” the High Court said.
The Judges directed the immediate transfer of Vijay Pratap Singh to the Government Mental Hospital in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, which is his home town so that he could get adequate family support.
The Court also directed payment of Rs 3 lakh as compensation from the victim compensation fund of Tamil Nadu to the family of the deceased in addition to Rs 10 lakh which has been already paid by the Center.
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