Man who murdered friend has sentence reduced after using ‘gay panic’ defence
The 35 year old has already served seven years of his original life sentence
By Steve Brown
A man who murdered his friend will have his charged reduced after using the ‘gay panic’ defence.
The 35-year-old man has already served seven years of his life sentence in jail for the murder of his friend but appealed to the Bombay High Court in an attempted to have his sentence reduced.
Now, it’s reported the court has changed his sentence to culpable homicide and released him for the time already served after saying his friend was trying to have “unnatural sex” with him and that was why he attacked him.
During the court proceedings, it was reported the judge said his story seemed “plausible”.
They said: “If a person is asked to indulge in an unnatural sex act and assaulted, it is quite probably such a person in the heat of passion would assault the person demanding such unnatural act.”
In India, homosexuality is illegal, but the Supreme Court is currently reviewing an appeal to overturn the law, with the decision expected to be announced in the next few weeks.