NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has commuted the death sentence of Antony, the convict in Aluva massacre, to life sentence. The judgment was made by a bench comprising of Madan B. Lokur, S. Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta.

SC pointed out the lower courts erred in considering the social, financial and criminal background of the convict. SC had earlier conceded the death sentence on this case. Mercy plea of Antony was also rejected by the President.

However the court also said that financial and social background doesn’t justify the murder.

Antony who had a temporary job as a driver, couldn’t find enough money to go abroad. So he turned towards Augustin, businessman and a close friend for financial aid. “The convict had to go through intense financial stress. There are no enough proofs to prove that he is a staunch criminal. The convict’s mental transformation and rehabilitation into the society should be considered. The shock in the society surrounding his deed is not enough reason for a death sentence”, the court said.

Crime that led to the case

Six members of a family, including two children, were found brutally murdered in their house near the St. Mary's High School, Aluva on January 8th 2001. Augustine (48), who is the owner of Manjooran's Hardware, Aluva, his wife Baby (43), his children Divya (16) and Jesmon (12), his mother Clara (78) and his sister Kochurani (40) were found dead. Antony had murdered the family due to a financial dispute.

Open Court was a turning point

The trial court gave Antony a death sentence on February 2, 2005. The High Court conceded the verdict on September 18, 2006. The Supreme Court in 2009 stayed the verdict but later sentenced him to death. The stay order was issued by a bench chaired by Justice Dipak Mishra while considering the review plea submitted by Antony. In a case between Muhammed Arif and SC registrar in 2014, the court ordered that at least a 30 minute plea should be allowed in an open court. Subsequently Advocate Manoj V George submitted a petition at the SC requesting the same.

The President had on April 27, 2015 rejected the mercy petition submitted by Antony. The plea submitted in 2010 was rejected after five years.