The Supreme Court on Thursday in an unexpected turn of events, asked Kerala police if there was any evidence that Govindachami, a convict in the infamous Soumya murder case had indeed pushed her off the train.
The Kerala High Court in December, 2013 had upheld a fast track court’s decision that Govindachami had robbed and pushed 23-year-old Soumya, a native of Shoranur, off the Ernakulam-Shoranur passenger train on February 1, 2011. She was raped and murdered. Soumya’s body was found by Railway police near a railway track, she succumbed to her injuries at the Government Medical College in Thrissur onFebruary 6.
The top court said that it was the prosecution’s task to convince the bench, and observed that the court was not a ‘place of guesswork’.
The court’s observation came while hearing a petition filed by Govindachami against his death sentence. The convict had claimed in the top court that the victim Soumya had herself jumped from the train.
"The court is convinced that Soumya was raped. The court also understands that she died due to head injury. However, it should be clarified whether Soumya was pushed from the train or whether she herself jumped from the train," the Supreme Court said.
According to media reports, the lawyer appearing for Kerala government did not have a reply for this question.
The trial court had given him death sentence after the prosecution proved its case that after pushing Soumya off the train, Govindachami jumped off the train, raped and murdered her.
The High Court Bench of Justice T R Ramachandran Nair and Justice B Kemal Pasha had called it a rarest of rare case and pronounced that all necessary evidence including circumstantial evidence was sufficient enough to prove that Govindachami was Soumya’s murderer.
The court also said that it was not expected “to shut its eyes and close its ears” to the cries of society for justice.