Kerala HC rejects Mavunkal plea to suspend life sentence in rape case

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has dismissed a petition filed by controversial self-styled antique dealer Monson Mavunkal seeking suspension of the life sentence given to him for repeatedly raping a minor girl, saying that the "heinous nature" of the offence committed by him "cannot be ignored".

The High Court said it can proceed with the suspension of sentence only if the evidence is found to be prima facie unreliable and no other materials and circumstances proving the complicity of the accused are available.

A bench of Justices P B Suresh Kumar and S Manu said that in the instant case, the evidence of the victim was prima facie sufficient to support the findings and conclusions arrived at by the trial court.

The High Court further said that there were other materials also against Mavunkal and therefore, his plea for suspension of sentence was liable to be rejected.

"It is to be noted that the petitioner has been awarded the imprisonment for life on three different counts by the Additional Sessions Judge. Suspending the sentence for life imprisonment can be resorted only in exceptional cases.

"The heinous nature of the offence allegedly committed by the petitioner (Mavunkal) cannot be ignored. The gravity of the offence is one of the relevant factors for consideration, at this stage, we are of the firm view that this application cannot be entertained. As a result, this application is dismissed," the Court said.

A Special POCSO court in Kerala in June last year sentenced Mavunkal to life imprisonment till the end of his natural life for repeatedly raping the minor daughter of his maid for several months from July 2019 to January 2020.

He had also conducted a pregnancy test on the victim in October 2019 and "unlawfully terminated" the pregnancy.

Mavunkal had moved the application for suspension of sentence along with his appeal against the trial court's judgment.

He had claimed in the application that the case of the victim was "fabricated" and the evidence adduced by the prosecution was "shaky and shabby".

He had also asserted that the prosecution suppressed some crucial materials and had resorted to manipulations to secure his conviction.

Mavunkal had also claimed that the evidence of the victim was not credible and was untrustworthy.

Rejecting his contentions, the High Court said it had perused the deposition of the victim and it did not find that the same was unreliable and misleading as argued by Mavunkal.

A native of Cherthala, Mavunkal, who claims to be in possession of rare and historic antiques, was arrested by the crime branch wing of the Kerala police, which has been investigating a case against him pertaining to cheating Rs 10 crore from different people.

He was arrested on September 25, 2021, in one of the cheating cases against him. He has been in jail since then and is now accused in around 10 cases.