SC Commuter for Death Penalty for Criminals in Amayur Multiple Murder Case

General view of the Supreme Court of New Delhi. |Photo source: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

The Supreme Court sentenced Reji Kumar to death in the Amayur multiple murder case in Kerala on Tuesday (22 April 2025) until the end of his life.

Three judges by Justice Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta Special judges considered mitigation factors such as the criminal’s previous previous precedent, his good behavior and becoming a model prisoner evacuated from the dead in the past 16-17 years in prison, mental health problems and ongoing efforts.

Forensic evidence

Kumar was found guilty of killing his wife and four children (three daughters and one son, between the ages of three and 12). Forensic evidence found that he raped his eldest daughter.

Justice Carroll began a 17-page judgment, introducing the case as a case that “forgot all etiquette, morality and responsibility to the family.”

Judge Carroll wrote: “We want to know how people who should feel the greatest love, care and affection for young lives, which may commit such crimes to make these lights of life be put out with the cruelest manner.”

Kumar, an agricultural worker, moved the Supreme Court after Sessions Court was sentenced to death for multiple murders and rapes. The prosecution successfully stated that Kumar repeatedly lied about the whereabouts of the missing family and carried out careful killings. The Kerala High Court then confirmed the death penalty.

Judge Carroll said he was partially allowed to appeal to the death penalty for commuting, saying the seriousness of the crime must be considered.

“Considering the severity of the crime, the number of persons killed, that out of five, four were his own children, we are of the view that he does not deserve to be set free and direct that he shall spend the remainder of his days in jail, till his last breath, hoping to do acts of penance to atone for the crimes he has committed and particularly for the fact that he extended four bright flames,” the Bench observed in the judgment.