The Madras High Court on Wednesday refused to grant any more adjournments in the S.D. Subbiah murder case to the persons who were found guilty of murdering the neurosurgeon in the city.
When the case came up for hearing, Justice P.N. Prakash and Justice Teekaa Raman expressed their displeasure over the constant delays in the case. The Bench was hearing referrals from the Sessions Court to confirm the sentences and appeals from the seven persons, who had been sentenced to death by hanging, and the two persons who had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Hasan Mohamed Jinnah, State Public Prosecutor, who said he was ready to argue the case, added that it was on September 14, 2013 that the doctor was murdered. He said the Supreme Court had directed that there should be no delay in such cases. The Bench then posted the matter to October 17, granting time for a senior counsel appearing for one of the accused to read the papers.
Dr. Subbiah was murdered in broad day light by a hired gang as he came out of a hospital in Raja Annamalai Puram. Investigation revealed that he had been murdered over a land dispute with a relative at Anju Gramam in Kanniyakumari district.
The Sessions judge, in August 2021, awarded the death penalty on two counts to Ponnusamy, Basil, Boris, William, James Sathiskumar, Murugan and Selvaprakash for offences under Sections 302 (Punishment for murder) and 120B (Criminal Conspiracy) of the IPC. He ordered that they be hanged, subject to confirmation of the sentence by the Madras High Court.
The judge sentenced Mary Pushpam and Yesurajan to life imprisonment on two counts, and imposed a fine of ₹50,000 each.
