Tirupur judge who gave ruling in Sankar case passes away

Alamelu Natarajan, the principal district judge in Tirupur, was under treatment over the last few days.

Sources said she was in a critical condition following lung infection. Around 11.30 am, the judge breathed her last.

A native of Coimbatore, Alamelu Natarajan took charge as a magistrate in 1991 and served as a judge in Coimbatore and Vellore districts. She became the Principal District Judge in Tirupur district in 2015.

Alamelu Natarajan made headlines for her verdict in the honour killing of Dalit youth Sankar, at Udumalapet in 2016, after he married Kausalya, a girl from an intermediate caste. Sankar was hacked to death in full public view by a gang of men based on the instruction by Kausalya’s father Chinnasamy.

After a quick hearing, aided by evidence including CCTV footage that captured the brutal murder, Alamelu awarded death sentence to six accused, including Chinnasamy.

Another accused was awarded life sentence while five others were given five-year jail term. The decisive manner in which the trial was held had brought her appreciation from legal fraternity and public.