KOCHI: The High Court has upheld the death sentence of foreign worker Narendra Kumar, accused in the case of the massacre of a couple and their son in Parampuzha, Kottayam. Praveen Lal, the owner of a dry cleaning firm, his father Lalasan and his mother Prasanna Kumari, who was a health department official, were brutally murdered. The accused should serve 20 years imprisonment without parole. The verdict of the Kottayam Principal Sessions Court, Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar, V M Shyamkumar, and the Division Bench gave relief.

The accused approached the High Court against the death sentence. The court assessed that there is only circumstantial evidence, although it is strictly accurate and it was also clarified that the accused is treated as a human being. According to the seriousness of the crime, the punishment should be severe but not cruel. The court also considered the 2003 report of the Criminal Justice System Reform Committee chaired by Justice V.S. Malimuth.

The High Court upheld the sentence under Sections 397, 457, 380, and 461 of the Indian Penal Code and commuted the death sentence under Section 302. On May 16, 2015, Narendra Kumar (27), a native of UP Firozabad, killed the couple and their son by slitting their throats and stabbing them. Praveen was shocked to ensure his death. The accused, who entered the country after the incident, was caught by the police within five days. Prasanna Kumari's jewelry and other looted items were recovered from the house of the accused. There was also an earring that was cut along with the ear.