'Rejection Is Not A License For Violence': Madras HC In 2016 Student Murder Case
'Rejection Is Not A License For Violence': Madras HC In 2016 Student Murder Case Published By, Last Updated: June 25, 2026, 14:44 IST Madras High
'Rejection Is Not A License For Violence': Madras HC In 2016 Student Murder Case Published By, Last Updated: June 25, 2026, 14:44 IST Madras High Court upholds life term for a man who murdered his ex girlfriend and classmate in Karur College classroom. The court also slammed hostile witnesses. The Madras High Court upheld the conviction and life sentence of a former engineering student for murdering his classmate. (PTI/File) The Madras High Court upheld the conviction and life sentence of a former engineering student for murdering his former girlfriend and classmate inside her college classroom. Noting that the man took this gruesome step after the woman ended her relationship with him, court delivered a strong message and said some men develop a sense of entitlement over women and react violently when relationships do not continue on their terms. “It has become a trend in recent times where a boy, who gets rejected in a relationship, thinks that a girl is bound to continue with the relationship," the court observed. A Division Bench of Justices N Anand Venkatesh and KK Ramakrishnan dismissed the appeal filed by Udayakumar, convicted for the 2016 murder of Sonali, a third-year Civil Engineering student at Karur College of Engineering.
The court affirmed the life imprisonment awarded by the trial court, finding the evidence against him overwhelming and consistent. According to the prosecution, Sonali and Udayakumar had been in a relationship, but she later chose to end it. Unable to accept the rejection, Udayakumar entered her classroom on August 30, 2016, and attacked her with a wooden log in front of fellow students and faculty members. She later succumbed to her injuries. While upholding the conviction, the High Court expressed concern over what it described as an increasing pattern of crimes committed by men who refuse to accept rejection. “Due to the reckless gory act on the part of the boy, the life of a girl, who had dreams to make it big has been snatched away," the judges said. Court Slammed Hostile Witnesses A significant part of the judgment focused on the conduct of several students who witnessed the attack but later turned hostile during the trial. The court expressed disappointment that eyewitnesses failed to stand by the truth despite having seen the incident unfold before them. “With a heavy heart, this Court has to hold that the students had let down the deceased by not supporting the case of the prosecution," the Bench observed.
The judges said the failure of witnesses to support the prosecution reflected a worrying disconnect between public outrage and actual participation in the justice process. “There is no use in merely expressing dissent and expressing views in social media and it has to translate itself into action or else the students will only become paper tigers in real life." The court stressed that the reluctance of witnesses to come forward in such cases could have serious consequences and may embolden offenders. “The student community must understand that it is only a matter of time that a similar incident may happen to any student in a college in such a gruesome fashion." The Bench warned that silence and inaction in the face of such crimes could allow similar tragedies to recur on campuses across the country. Despite several witnesses turning hostile, the court found that the testimony of an injured professor who witnessed the attack, coupled with medical and other corroborative evidence, was sufficient to establish the accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The judges also noted that Udayakumar was familiar with the college premises and had deliberately entered the classroom where Sonali was present. The prosecution had successfully established that the murder was motivated by his inability to accept the end of the relationship, the court said.
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