Madurai court sentences nine police officers to death for 2020 custodial deaths of Jayaraj and Bennix in Sathankulam, orders Rs1.40 crore compensation to their family.
On June 19, 2020, the father-son duo was taken to the Sathankulam Police Station, where they were brutally assaulted by the police.
The Madurai court on Monday awarded death sentence to all nine convicted police officers for the custodial death of father-son duo Jayaraj and Bennix in Sathankulam in 2020.
Live Law quoted Judge G Muthukumaran saying the case was a rare one where the police officers, who were obligated to maintain law and order, had themselves acted against the law and brutally assaulted the father and son, who did not have any criminal case against them. Besides, the court ordered a total compensation of Rs 1.40 crore payable by the officers to the family of the deceased.
The judgment comes six years after Jayaraj and his son were taken into custody for allegedly keeping their shop open beyond 9pm and violating Covid-19 norms.
On June 19, 2020, the father and son were taken to the Sathankulam Police Station, where they were brutally assaulted by the police and were later remanded under sections 188, 269, 294(b), 353, and 506(2) of the IPC. Bennix succumbed to the injuries on June 22, and Jayaraj on June 23.
Following the incident, cases were registered against 10 police officers and disciplinary action was taken against them.
The state government had handed over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation at the request of the Director General of Police to ensure a free and fair investigation. Charges were framed against the officers for offences under Sections 302, 342, 201, 182, 193, 211, 218, 120(B), and 34 of the IPC against the then Inspector S. Sridhar, Sub-Inspectors P. Raghu Ganesh and K. Balakrishnan, head constables S. Murugan and A. Saamidurai, and constables M. Muthuraj, S. Chelladurai, X. Thomas Francis, S. Veilumuthu, and Special Sub-Inspector Pauldurai. Pauldurai, however, died pending trial due to Covid-19.
On Monday, the judge said the injuries inflicted on Jayaraj and Bennix were unnatural, which ultimately caused their death.
According to LiveLaw, the court also rejected the argument that the injuries were self-inflicted and noted that the post-mortem reports revealed that the injuries were a result of repeated assault.
It pointed out that it was a case of murder and found all nine police officers guilty.
April 06, 2026, 18:37 IST
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