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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2010 |
Year Convicted: |
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Year Cleared: |
2016 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
India |
County or Region of Crime: |
Tamil Nadu |
City of Crime: |
Chennai (Madras) |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Manikandan (AKA Pillappa of Kodungayur) was wrongly convictd of the stabbing murder of a man known as Selvam in Chennai (formerly known as Madras), India on November 1, 2010.. Manikandan's prosecution was based on the circumstantial evidence of the testimony of the victim's son that Manikandan had vowed to take revenge against Selvam after he slapped Manikandan's father for using allegedly abusive language against Selvam and his wife. After his conviction Manikandan was sentenced to life in prison. Manikandan appealed. On April 23, 2016 the Madras High Court reversed Manikandan's conviction and ordered his acquittal based on extreme irregularities in the conduct of his trial by the prosecutor and the trial judge that deprived him of a fair trial. The trial judge allowed the prosecutor to repeatedly call Selvam's son to testify without any new facts to justify recalling him. The appeals court stated: "The learned judge has only exhibited his ignorance in allowing the prosecutor to recall the witness after several months to again examine the witness in chief examination when no new fact was in the hands of the learned public prosecutor to be introduced. We feel very sorry to say that the public prosecutor who conducted the trial had also been quite indifferent and equally ignorant of the legal positions. ... no court can afford to be unfair towards the victims and the witnesses and at the whims and fancies of the accused, the witnesses cannot be harassed by summoning them to court repeatedly and to humiliate them."" |
Conviction Caused By: |
Judicial errors and prosecutor misconduct in repeatedly calling the key witness without new evidence. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On April 23, 2016 the Madras High Court reversed Manikandan's conviction and ordered his acquittal based on extreme irregularities in the conduct of his trial by the prosecutor and the trial judge that deprived him of a fair trial. " |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
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Information Source 1: |
"HC sets aside trial court order in murder case,acquits accused, The Times of India, April 23, 2016" |
Information Location 1: |
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/HC-sets-aside-trial-court-order-in-murder-caseacquits-accused/articleshow/51955503.cms |
Information Source 2: |
"HC sets aside trial court order in murder case,acquits accused, By Press Trust of India (Chennai), Business Standard (Chennai, India), April 23, 2016" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/hc-sets-aside-trial-court-order-in-murder-case-acquits-accused-116042300396_1.html |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org