On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India set aside a Madras High Court acquittal of all the accused in the 2013 murder of a doctor based in Chennai and imposed life sentences on the nine convicts, reversing the previous order.On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India issued a life sentence to nine persons in the 2013 murder case of a doctor, who was based in Chennai, reversing a Madras High Court acquittal in 2024 on the ground that the case could not be proven.
A bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice SC Sharma reimposed the conviction of the sensational murder case of Dr Subbiah, a popular doctor at Billroth Hospital, Chennai. Seven of the convicts were ordered to give themselves up within two weeks.
But the Supreme Court put on hold the jail time of two senior convicts, P Ponnusamy and Mary Pushpam, who had filed a mercy plea with the government for reconsideration. In the process, the bench, however, has clarified that their observations on their age and circumstances should not be read as an endorsement of the crime.
Dr Subbiah was brutally murdered when he returned home from work on September 14, 2013. The investigators said the killing was being carried out as part of some plan by the old couple and their two sons, Basil and Boris.
The prosecution case got firmer when one of the accused approached the police as an approver and shared information about the conspiracy and how ₹6.5 lakh was paid to the accused to kill the victim. Investigators believe the motive for the killing had to do with getting the doctor’s property for the family.
The nine had been sentenced to death in a first court trial. In June 2024, however, the Madras High Court acquitted them after finding insufficient evidence. The Tamil Nadu government later filed a challenge before the Supreme Court against the acquittal with the help of top lawyer Siddharth Luthra that led to Tuesday’s ruling reinstating the convictions.