Kerala Court Sentences Man to Death for Hacking Neighbour and His Elderly Mother to Death in Broad Daylight

A Sessions Court in Palakkad has sentenced a 61-year-old man to death for the brutal killing of his neighbour and the neighbour's elderly mother on a public road in Nenmara. The court, delivering its sentence on July 20, 2026, held that the case fell within the "rarest of rare" category, a legal standard reserved for the most extreme crimes where courts consider handing down capital punishment instead of life imprisonment.

Additional Sessions Judge Kenneth George, presiding over Sessions Case No. 490/2025, found the accused, Chenthamara, guilty of murdering Sudhakaran and his mother Lakshmi on January 27, 2025. He was also convicted of wrongfully restraining Sudhakaran moments before the attack.

Background of the Case

According to the prosecution, the roots of this case go back years. Chenthamara believed his neighbours had a hand in the breakdown of his marriage, which led to his wife and daughter leaving him. That resentment, the prosecution said, first turned deadly in 2019, when he killed his neighbour Sajitha, who was Sudhakaran's wife. He was tried for that murder separately and was out on bail in that case, on strict conditions that barred him from entering the Nenmara area.

Court records show he broke that condition. He moved back into a house near his old neighbourhood, prompting residents, including Lakshmi and Sudhakaran's daughter, to file a police complaint in December 2024 warning that his presence put their lives at risk. Police summoned him and warned him to leave, but he stayed on, and according to the prosecution, he began threatening neighbours and made preparatory visits near Sudhakaran's house.

The final incident unfolded quickly. On the morning of January 27, 2025, as Sudhakaran rode his motorcycle on the road outside his house, the prosecution said Chenthamara blocked his path and attacked him with a chopper, inflicting fatal injuries. When Lakshmi arrived at the scene moments later, she too was attacked with the same weapon and died from her injuries.

The trial ran for several months. It began with the charge being framed in October 2025, moved through witness examinations from February 2026 onward, and concluded with the judgment being pronounced on July 13, 2026. The prosecution examined 81 witnesses and produced over 90 documents, along with DNA evidence linking the accused to the crime scene.

Court Observations

In its judgment, the court did not mince words about the nature of the crime. Describing the manner of the killings, the bench observed that the twin murders were carried out with what it called "tiger-like pace," executed within less than seven minutes, and said this alone was enough to shock the conscience of society.

The court weighed a long list of aggravating factors against the mitigating circumstances put forward by the defence. It noted that the victims were an unarmed, aged mother and her son who had done nothing to provoke the attack, that the accused showed no remorse and instead tried to justify his actions, and that this was not an isolated act of violence but part of a pattern that had already claimed one life in 2019.

The defence had argued for leniency, pointing to the convict's poor background, his limited schooling, years already spent in custody, and even a suicide attempt he made using poison. The court rejected each of these as insufficient to outweigh the gravity of the crime. It also observed that changing family structures in Kerala have left elderly people more vulnerable, and that courts have a duty to send a firm, deterrent message against such crimes.

When personally asked about the punishment he might face, the accused reportedly told the court, "I may be hanged to death," declining to offer any statement in his defence.

The bench ultimately concluded that the aggravating circumstances stood, in its words, "in the superlative," leaving no room for leniency, while mitigating factors were "conspicuously absent."

The Decision

The court convicted Chenthamara of two counts of murder under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and one count of wrongful restraint under Section 126(2) of the same law. For the murders, he was sentenced to death, along with a fine of ₹10 lakh for each victim, amounting to ₹20 lakh in total. The court directed that, in default of payment, he would undergo three years of rigorous imprisonment on each count.

As mandated by law, the death sentence cannot be carried out immediately. The court has referred the matter to the Kerala High Court for confirmation, as required under Section 407(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

For the offence of wrongful restraint, the court imposed one month of simple imprisonment along with a fine of ₹5,000, to run concurrently with a life sentence he is already serving in connection with the 2019 murder case.

The court also directed that the fine amount, once realised, be distributed among the victims' surviving family members as compensation, in a fixed proportion decided by the bench.

Case Title: State vs. Chenthamara