KOCHI: Former High Court judge Justice Kemal Pasha said that he was disappointed that the accused in the Attapadi Madhu murder case did not get life imprisonment. As the trial court found that the accused have committed an offense under Section 304 Part 2 of the Indian Penal Code, which is punishable with imprisonment up to 10 years, all the accused are eligible for life imprisonment under the Prevention of Atrocities Against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act. The trial court does not appear to have considered this point. Section 304 Part 2 of the Indian Penal Code includes the punishment for atrocity committed with the knowledge of the possibility of death even without intent to kill. If convicted, one can be jailed for up to 10 years or fined or both. The accused in the Madhu murder case were punished under this section.

Section three (2) (v) of the Prevention of Atrocities Against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act states that if a person who does not belong to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes commits any offense punishable with imprisonment for ten years against a person knowing that he is a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes, he shall be punished with imprisonment for life. Therefore, all the accused in the Madhu murder case deserve life imprisonment. I do not understand why the trial court did not consider this and I feel disappointed about this, said Justice Kemal Pasha.