Abolish Death Penalty India: Gujarat - Husband Gets Death Sentence For Brutal 2021 Murder In Vapi

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Gujarat - Husband Gets Death Sentence For Brutal 2021 Murder In Vapi

A sessions court in Vapi held the 2021 killing of a woman by her husband to be exceptionally brutal, awarding the death penalty.

Published : December 23, 2025 at 10:05 PM IST

Vapi (Gujarat): A sessions court in Vapi has sentenced a man to death for the murder of his wife, a case that dates back to September 2021 and had sent shockwaves through the Dungra Dungri area of the town. The Third Additional Sessions Court held Laxmikant alias Bhola Muchkundlal Vishwakarma guilty of killing his wife, Sadhnadevi Vishwakarma (29), inside their rented room. The court described the crime as falling in the “rarest of the rare” category. According to the prosecution, the couple’s marriage was strained, with frequent arguments triggered by the accused’s suspicion of his wife. What began as routine domestic discord eventually turned violent.

Representational Image (Getty Images)

In the early hours of September 16, 2021, between 1 and 2 am, Vishwakarma attacked his wife with a large knife. He slit her throat and severed her head inside the room they were staying in. Investigators told the court that the accused then carried the severed head to a drain near the Fish Market on the main road in the Dungra Dungri area, allegedly to prevent identification, and fled with the weapon. The incident came to light after the room owner, Chandrakesh Khushal Yadav, and his wife were woken by unusual sounds. When they stepped out, they saw the accused walking towards the drain, holding a blood-soaked head in one hand and a knife in the other. The couple later informed the police.

Vapi police reached the spot shortly after and recovered the head from the drain, while the woman’s headless body was found inside the rented room. The accused was arrested within hours. During the trial, the prosecution relied on eyewitness accounts, material evidence and the nature of the crime itself. Public prosecutor Rakesh Champaneria argued that the brutality of the act left little room for leniency. After hearing the arguments, Additional Sessions Judge Pushpa Saini convicted the accused under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and awarded the death sentence. The court also imposed a fine of ₹5,000, with a default sentence of two years’ simple imprisonment. The accused was further convicted under Section 201 of the IPC for attempting to destroy evidence. For this, he was sentenced to five ears’ imprisonment and fined ₹1,000. In case of default, he will undergo six months’ simple imprisonment.

Source: https://www.etvbharat.com/en/state/husband-gets-death-sentence-for-brutal-2021-murder-in-vapi-gujarat-enn25122306660

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The Death Penalty Scenario in India

India is one of 193 countries that retains the death penalty. Some judges have delivered landmark verdicts upholding the rights of death row prisoners, while debates continue advocating abolition or reform of sentencing policies. The Indian government remains committed to retention, asserting executions occur only in “rarest of rare” cases. The death penalty applies to crimes including murder, kidnapping, terrorism, desertion, inducement to suicide of a minor or mentally-retarded person, and in certain cases of rape. Outrage over child rape and murder has intensified these discussions. After an unofficial eight-year moratorium, the government executed Ajmal Kasab (Mumbai attacks) in 2012 and Afzal Guru (Parliament attack) in 2013, both covertly and immediately after mercy petitions were rejected. Prior to this, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed in 2004 after 13 years on death row. Following these, many mercy petitions have been rejected, creating fear among death row convicts. Courts continue to hand down death sentences at an increasing rate. Empirical studies highlight the plight of death row prisoners. The India Exclusion Report 2017-18 found fair trial rights largely denied, with convicts often marginalized by caste, religion, poverty, and education. The Death Penalty Research Project (2015) documented socio-economic profiles and experiences of death row prisoners. Dr. Reena Mary George’s studies (2014, 2009) emphasized poverty, social exclusion, and dignity as central to death row experiences, and examined the human rights impact of the penalty. According to the National Crime Records Bureau 2015, 101 prisoners were on death row, with many sentences commuted to life. The “rarest of rare” doctrine introduced by the Supreme Court in the 1980s has not substantially limited death sentences, which have increased over the decades. Justice Joseph (2018) reaffirmed the Bachan Singh judgment but urged restriction of the death penalty to only those cases meeting its criteria. While updating the blog and conducting my own empirical studies, I observed the heinous nature of the crimes that were committed and thought about the families, about their loss, about the victims who for no fault of their own died. If I lost my relative or a dear friend, would I still oppose death penalty and would I still advocate to abolish the death sentence? Having worked in the criminal justice system and also having the seen the other side, where often it is the marginalized, vulnerable and oppressed who are on death row makes me want to advocate for abolition of this punishment. Victims should definitely get justice for their loss, for their pain. No one should escape the rule of law. As long as humanity exists; crime will exist. Should we not re-consider our sentencing policies? Reena Mary George