Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: In a landmark judgment that has reignited national debate on custodial violence, the First Additional District and Sessions Court in Madurai on April 6 awarded the death penalty to nine police personnel convicted in the 2020 Sattankulam custodial deaths case.
The case pertains to the deaths of trader P. Jayaraj (58) and his son J. Benicks (31), who died following alleged brutal torture in police custody. The court had, on March 23, 2026, found all nine accused guilty but reserved its decision on sentencing.
Pronouncing the quantum of punishment today, the court accepted the prosecution’s argument that the crime fell within the “rarest of rare” category, warranting capital punishment.
During the sentencing proceedings, both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and counsel representing the victims’ family strongly pressed for the maximum penalty. They argued that the victims were subjected to inhuman torture throughout the night inside the Sattankulam police station, despite having committed no serious offence.
The brutality, they contended, justified the harshest punishment under law. The case had triggered widespread outrage across the country in 2020, prompting the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court to take suo motu cognisance.
Subsequently, the probe was transferred from the state police to the CBI by the then AIADMK government to ensure an impartial investigation. Originally, 10 police personnel were named as accused in the case.
