Doctor murder in Chennai: 7 on death row acquitted

CHENNAI: All the seven people, who had been sentenced to death by a trial court in the sensational Dr Subbiah murder case of 2013, were acquitted of all charges by Madras high court on Friday.
Two more people, who had been awarded imprisonment for life by a Chennai sessions court, were also acquitted. A division bench of Justice M S Ramesh and Sunder Mohan passed the order on Friday, allowing all the appeals moved by the accused.
Setting aside the order passed by the trial court, the bench ordered immediate release of all the accused if they are not wanted in any other case. The court also ordered the return of fine if any was paid by the accused.
On Sept 14, 2013, the 58-year-old neurologist was stabbed in public while he was walking out of Billroth Hospital in Chennai towards his car in the evening. Visuals of the murder, captured on a CCTV camera, went viral on social media.
Though a case was initially registered for attempt to murder, after Subbiah succumbed to injuries, it was altered to murder.
According to the prosecution, a land dispute with his family over a 2.4-acre plot in Kanyakumari led to the crime. In Aug 2021, a sessions court in Chennai sentenced the seven people to capital punishment.
The court also sentenced two others to life imprisonment. One of the accused, who turned approver and became a prosecution witness, was allowed to go free.
Ponnusamy, Basil, Boris, William, James Satish Kumar, Murugan and Selva Prakash were sentenced to double capital punishment.
The other two accused, Mary Pushpam and Yesurajan, were sentenced to double life terms.