Moving scenes at the court

Dramatic scenes were witnessed yesterday as the Additional Session Judge Fast Track Court No. 1 delivered the verdict in the Soumya case. Public and political groups along with the media barreled into the court room much before the judge had arrived, looking for the best perch to take in the whole 'action'.
Soumya's father, mother and brother were present in the court and at times father Ganesh and brother Sumesh became so emotional on the court premises, that they almost hollered for the "severest punishment to the accused". Mother Sumathi was weeping and fainted on the premises, which obviously touched everyone present.Cameras jostled when the police jeep carrying Govindachamy rolled in. The accused looked cool and calm. He kept on smiling, even making funny faces when the lensmen started rolling their cameras.And as he was being taken back to the jeep after the verdict was pronounced, some people surrounded the vehicle, snarling "Don't leave him!" But, of course, the police cordon around him was too strong for the angry mob to breach and the jeep left the place in 'rocket speed', as one witness put it.AIYF activists did try again to stop the jeep at the court gate but the vehicle was too fast for them. Later these activists staged a march praising the verdict and demanding severe punishment to the accused.The special public prosecutor and defence counsel were not free from the glare of cameras and the reporters' nagging questions.Advocate A Sureshan pleaded for nothing short of capital punishment to the accused. "It was the rarest of rare cases. Nor does the accused deserve any leniency because he is handicapped. He lost his hand during a robbery attempt at Erode."Defence lawyer advocate BA Aloor said that they respected the court's decision but would go in appeal to the high court as "the court here apparently did not consider the testimony of defence witnesses, other evidence and arguments."On the prosecution's move to present more witnesses, he said that it was against legal procedures. All this had to be done "at the time of preparing the chargesheet, not now".Reacting to the questions from the media on public arguments against their appearing for the accused, they said they had no regrets "about doing what was only our job as lawyers." They also declined to reveal the details of the people "who gave us this brief" and added: "We are also appearing in the Paul Muthoot murder case."Soumya's brother Santhosh said that the accused should get the maximum punishment and expected a 'positive verdict' from the court "for that alone will secure justice for my sister".