Supreme Court upholds death for three in bus burning case
August 30th, 2010 - 4:22 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday confirmed the death sentence awarded to three AIADMK activists for causing the death of three women students of an agricultural university in a bus burning incident near Dharampuri in Tamil Nadu in February 2000.
The three girls were burnt alive and several others sustained burn injuries when the college bus they were travelling in was set on fire by AIADMK activists protesting party chief J. Jayalalithaa’s conviction in the Kodaikanal Pleasant Stay Hotel unauthorised construction case.
The apex court bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice B.S. Chauhan held that the killing of the three women fell in the “rarest of the rare” category, and said that sprinkling kerosene on the bus, knowing well that the students inside would not be able to escape, was nothing but a premeditated act.
The court noted that the protesters did not even heed to the pleadings of the teachers travelling in the bus with the girl students.
Writing the judgment for the bench, Justice Chauhan said that act of the perpetrators of the crime was “inhuman and barbaric”. The judgment also slammed the general public and the police present on the spot for doing nothing to save the girls.
The judgment said that if police had acted in discharge of their duty, perhaps the precious lives could have been saved.
The three convicted are C. Muniappan, Madhu alias Ravindran and Nedu alias Nedunchezhian.
A Chennai court had in February 2000 convicted and sentenced Jayalalithaa and four others to one-year jail term each for legalising the unauthorised construction of the seven-storeyed Pleasant Stay Hotel at Kodaikanal when she was the chief minister 1991-96.
- Bus burning case: Three death convicts to submit mercy plea - Sep 22, 2010
- Tamil Nadu bus burning: Apex court gives death to three (Lead, changing dateline) - Aug 30, 2010
- Apex court stays execution of three in Dharmapuri bus burning (Lead) - Jan 28, 2011
- Bus burning: Three AIADMK arsonists sent to the gallows (Second Lead) - Aug 30, 2010
- Dharmapuri bus burning: Apex court stays execution of three - Jan 28, 2011
- People on death row in India - May 06, 2010
- Karunanidhi urges partymen to expose AIADMK's misdeeds - Dec 21, 2010
- Apex court gives one-year jail to former Kerala minister - Feb 10, 2011
- Apex court modifies Graham Staines murder verdict (Lead) - Jan 25, 2011
- Missionary's killer Dara Singh moves apex court for review (Lead) - Mar 10, 2011
- Apex court approves common curriculum for Tamil Nadu schools (lead) - Aug 09, 2011
- Death for three confirmed in 2003 Mumbai blasts case (Lead) - Feb 10, 2012
- Red Fort attack: LeT militant's death sentence upheld (Lead) - Aug 10, 2011
- Change in government should not hit students: Apex court (Second Lead) - Jun 14, 2011
- Implement uniform school syllabus: Madras High Court - Jul 18, 2011
Tags: agricultural university, aiadmk, apex court, chennai court, chief minister, court bench, court noted that, death sentence, girl students, j jayalalithaa, jail term, party chief, pleadings, precious lives, rare category, ravindran, sprinkling, three girls, three women, women students