Kerala High Court Sentences Father, Stepmother to Life for 2013 Kozhikode Child Murder

Overview

• The division bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar convicted Subramanian Namboodiri and Ramla Begum alias Devaki Antharjanam under IPC Section 302 read with Section 34.
• The court imposed life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2 lakh on each convict, declining the prosecution’s request for the death penalty.
• Relying on medical evidence and the brother’s testimony, the court found the child died of neurogenic shock caused by prolonged torture, neglect, starvation and forced manual labour.
• The judgment details severe beatings, boiling water poured on the child’s genitals, multiple fractures and deliberate starvation as part of sustained cruelty.
• The High Court criticized the sessions court’s reasoning as perverse, set aside the acquittal on murder, upheld lesser convictions, and confirmed the acquittal on attempted murder of the brother.