Law student's murder in Perumbavoor: Supreme Court stays execution of death sentence awarded to Ameerul Islam

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of the death sentence awarded to Ameerul Islam, the accused in the brutal murder of a law student in Perumbavoor. The bench, headed by Justice BR Gavai, issued the order staying the execution of the death sentence till a verdict is pronounced on the appeal filed by the convict.

The apex court sought a report regarding the mitigating circumstances and psychological evaluation of the convict. The court also said that Thrissur Medical College should appoint a special team for the psychological evaluation of the convict.

In his appeal, Ameerul Islam had pointed out that he had enough evidence to prove his innocence in the case. He also questioned the constitutionality of the death penalty in the petition. Advocates Satheesh Mohanan, Subhash Chandran and Sreeram Parakkat filed the petition on behalf of Ameerul.

Earlier this year, the Kerala High Court had upheld the death penalty of the accused in the death of the law student. The trial court awarded the death sentence to the Assam native by accepting the prosecution's argument that it was the rarest of the rare cases.

The law student was murdered on April 28, 2016. Her postmortem report had revealed that she was also subjected to rape and had sustained 38 wounds on her body. Ameerul Islam, an Assam native, was later arrested on June 16 following the probe.