A special court in Kerala has given a lesser sentence to 14 out of 16 convicts in the Madhu lynching case, who were involved in the killing of a tribal man for allegedly stealing food items in 2018, because two of them had offered Madhu a banana and a cup of juice. The court, citing CCTV footage, said it believed that there existed “remnants of humanitarian consideration” in the minds of the assailants and that chances of reformation could not be ruled out. The first accused was convicted and sentenced for offences including culpable homicide, unlawful assembly and wrongful confinement. The remaining 12 were convicted and sentenced for all the same offences as well as crimes including voluntarily causing hurt and kidnapping or abducting. The court sentenced the 12 convicts for seven years under section 326 and 304 part II and five years under 367 of the IPC. 12 of the accused were convicted and sentenced for the same offenses as the first accused, as well as for additional crimes under section 324, 326, and 367 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Section 324 of the IPC deals with voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means, which is punishable with imprisonment for up to three years or with a fine, or both. Section 326 of the IPC deals with voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, which is punishable with imprisonment for up to ten years and a fine. Section 367 of the IPC deals with kidnapping or abducting a person in order to subject them to grievous hurt, slavery, or other purposes. The offense is punishable with imprisonment for up to ten years and a fine.
Based on the information provided, it appears that the 12 accused were convicted and sentenced for their involvement in multiple offenses under the IPC, including offenses related to causing hurt, grievous hurt, and kidnapping.