The Supreme Court (SC) has fixed for hearing the appeals filed by the convicts who were given the death penalty over the abduction, gang rape and murder of schoolgirl Sivaloganathan Vidya in 2015, seeking the acquittal from the sentences imposed on them.
The appeal petitions were taken up before the SC bench consisting of Justices Preethi Padman Surasena, Gamini Amarasekara and Arjuna Obeyesekere yesterday (20).
The three-Judge bench, which considered the facts presented, ordered that the appeals be taken up for hearing on October 6, 2023.
The prison officers had produced the convicts of the case including the chief accused “Swiss Kumar” in Court, amid heavy security.
The Jaffna High Court, which heard the case, gave the death penalty to the seven accused on September 27, 2017.
The Trial At Bar sentenced the seven accused to death and also ordered them to pay Rs.1 million as compensation to the victim’s family. Additional penalties were also imposed on the convicts.
The appealing parties sought an order from the SC that the relevant death penalty be declared to have been imposed in violation of the law and to therefore acquit them from the charges.
