Palakkad (Kerala), Jul 13 A court in Palakkad on Monday convicted a 61-year-old man in the sensational 2025 Nenmara double murder case.
Additional Sessions Judge Kenneth George found Chenthamara guilty of murdering Sudhakaran and his mother, Lakshmi, at Pothundi near Nenmara on January 27, 2025.
The court found Chenthamara guilty under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 103(1) for murder and section 126(2) for wrongful restraint.
The court posted the case for the pronouncement of sentence on July 15.
Chenthamara had earlier been arrested for the 2019 murder of Sudhakaran's wife Sajitha, whom he allegedly blamed for his marital problems.
After being released on bail in January 2025 in that case, he allegedly murdered Sudhakaran and Lakshmi.
Police arrested him shortly after the double murder, and he was later lodged in the Malampuzha sub-jail.
In the Sajitha murder case, the court had earlier sentenced Chenthamara to double life imprisonment.
During the trial in the double murder case, the prosecution examined 81 witnesses and produced 28 material objects before the court.
Four of Chenthamara's relatives turned hostile during the trial.
Speaking to reporters after the verdict, Sajitha's daughters, Atulya and Akhila, alleged that Chenthamara had issued threats even inside the courtroom and demanded that he be awarded the death penalty.
"He should get the maximum punishment. Even in court, he said without any remorse to go ahead and hang him if they want to. We lost our father and grandmother. Everyone is gone. He must be given a punishment that fits his crime," Akhila said.
Atulya said the family continued to live in fear.
"He is not afraid of anything. He must be given a punishment that fits his crime," she said.
Saritha, a relative of Sajitha, said the convict had orphaned both the girls and appealed to the government to support them.
"We request the government to take responsibility for them. We hope the government will provide them with jobs. They have no one else now," she said.
Advocate Jacob Mathew, who appeared for Chenthamara, told reporters that the court did not examine the evidence in depth and that the possibility of media reports influencing the judiciary in the case.
However, the Public Prosecutor, MJ Vijayakumar, denied the claims made by the defence counsel.
“Such a factor is neither applicable nor relevant to this case. Because in our Indian judiciary, courts deliver verdicts solely based on evidence,” he told reporters.
He said that the court considered the circumstantial evidence, eyewitness testimony, forensic findings, and medical evidence to be highly important aspects of this case.
He said that the prosecution will demand the death penalty in the case.
“The court had already requested a report from the probation officer and a psychiatrist's report, and both have been received. Even in those reports, it is stated that there is absolutely no possibility of reformation or rehabilitation for him, and that he does not suffer from any mental health issues,” he said.
Vijayakumar said that Chenthamara's behaviour before the court also shows that he has no regrets.
“Even now, his attitude shows 'no regret'. Therefore, it is our firm belief that he will receive the maximum punishment, which is the death penalty,” he said.
