Bombay HC Confirms Death Penalty for Pune Rogue Driver

By IANS Published: 09th September 2014 02:35 PM Last Updated: 09th September 2014 03:03 PM MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court Tuesday confirmed the death sentence on Pune rogue driver Santosh M. Mane, who two years ago hijacked a state transport bus and killed nine people. The incident happened Jan 25, 2012 after he was denied a change from night duty to day duty by his superiors. In a fit of rage, he hijacked the bus from the busy Swargate Bus Depot in the heart of the city and drove wildly for nearly 16 km before he was forced to a stop. The incident left nine pedestrians dead, many were injured and several private and government vehicles as well as public and private property en route were damaged. Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Bombay-HC-Confirms-Death-Penalty-for-Pune-Rogue-Driver/2014/09/09/article2422576.ece [last accessed 06.02.2015]

Bombay HC upholds conviction of Pune rogue driver

July 24, 2014 - 7:40:45 am

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court yesterday upheld the conviction of Santosh Mane, a state transport corporation driver who had mowed down nine pedestrians and injured 37 others in Pune in 2012. A division bench comprising Justice VM Kanade and Justice PD Kode also rejected Mane’s plea that he was ‘insane’ at the time of the incident. The court fixed August 5 for awarding the quantum of sentence to Mane, who was convicted by a lower court in Pune last year. Pune Sessions Court Additional Sessions Judge V.K. Shewale had April 8, 2013 pronounced the death sentence for Mane, terming it as “a rarest of rare” crimes.

Mane (36), was convicted under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to murder, attempt to murder, theft and damage to public property. However, when the sentence came up for confirmation by the Bombay High Court, Mane challenged the conviction and claimed he was of unsound mind at the time of the incident. Both matters -- the confirmation of the death sentence and his challenge to the conviction -- were heard simultaneously by the court. Rejecting his plea for psychiatric examination, the Bombay High Court in September 2013 had set aside the death sentence awarded to Mane on grounds that the lower court had not heard him on the point of the sentence.

It referred the matter back to the Pune Sessions Court, directing it to hear Mane again on the issue of the death sentence. The Pune court heard him out, and again awarded the death penalty, which he challenged in the high court. On January 25, 2012, Mane had hijacked a Satara-bound bus of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) from the Swargate depot and sped it through the crowded roads of Pune, catching morning peak hour commuters unawares.

In his wild 15-km ride, lasting 45 minutes, he knocked down scores of people and damaged more than two dozen public and private vehicles before he was nabbed. Meanwhile in Siliguri, a fresh autopsy of a West Bengal school teacher who died in judicial custody in Uttar Pradesh was conducted Wednesday, as demonstrators carrying his body blocked the national highway and fought pitched battles with police in Darjeeling district.

Trouble broke out for the second day yesterday night, as a mob put up road blocks on national highway 34 at Bihar More in Bagdogra. The fresh disturbances started after police handed over the body of Ganesh Chowdhury to his family members after the second autopsy. Claiming Chowdhury was killed in judicial custody in Uttar Pradesh, the demonstrators demanded a proper investigation and the opening of a murder case. They also demanded “exemplary punishment” to those responsible for his death. The demonstrators pelted stones and fought pitched battle with police when the authorities tried to remove the road blockades.

“We were attacked by the mob. So, we were forced to baton-charge the demonstrators,” said Siliguri Deputy Commissioner of Police OG Pal. Earlier, a few hundred people demonstrated with Chowdhury’s body outside the Bagdogra police station, demanding a repeat post-mortem examination. Uttar Pradesh Police had earlier conducted a post-mortem examination, which was “not to the satisfaction” of his family members. “Following an appeal from Chowdhury’s family, the Darjeeling district magistrate ordered a second post-mortem examination which was done during the day (Wednesday) at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH),” Siliguri sub-divisional officer Deepap Priya P said.

Chowdhury of Bagdogra was employed as a teacher in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. He died in judicial custody in Azamgarh after his arrest in a kidnapping case. His family members claimed he was in a relationship with the school owner’s daughter. As the girl’s father was against the marriage, the couple eloped. Following a police complaint, the teacher’s father and brother were arrested. When Chowdhury came to know of this, he surrendered to police and was sent to judicial custody, said his brother-in-law Lal Babu Kamath. Uttar Pradesh Police claimed he fell ill in custody and died in a hospital Monday.

NBMCH forensic department head Rajiv Prasad said the vicera report will be available after a month. In Ghaziabad police yesterday registered a criminal case against two unidentified people over the mysterious death of 31-year-old Rajya Sabha TV producer Milita Dutta Mandal, who died at her residence in Vaishali. “We have registered a case. The two people have not been identified as the CCTV camera was not working at the time when the crime took place. But the apartment’s security guard told us that two people had come by a car at the time of the incident,” a police official said.

Asked about the post-mortem report, Ghaziabad police said their Delhi counterparts were looking after that. IANS

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/bombay-hc-upholds-conviction-of-pune-rogue-driver-114072301781_1.html [last accessed 09 April 2015]

Maharashtra: Bus driver given death for mowing down 9 pleads 'unsound mind'

Press Trust of India

Jun 25, 2014 at 07:41pm IST

Mumbai: Santosh Mane, a former state transport bus driver, who has been awarded death penalty for mowing down nine persons in a fit of reckless driving on Pune roads in January 2012, on Wednesday pleaded before the Bombay High Court that he was of "unsound mind" at the relevant time. Mane's lawyer argued that he did not have the motive to commit such a heinous crime and that at the time of the incident he was of "unsound mind". 

A bench of Justices VM Kanade and PD Kode was hearing an appeal filed by Mane against his conviction by the Pune trial court. To a query by the bench whether the trial court had observed that he was of "unsound mind" at the time of the incident, the lawyer replied in the negative. However, the lawyer said, at the stage of remand, the driver had filed an application in the trial court saying that he was of "unsound mind" and for that he needed treatment. The court had then asked a psychiatrist to give him medical help. The lawyer further informed the bench that the trial court had rejected Mane's plea that he was of "unsound mind". The high court wanted to know whether Mane had challenged that order in a higher court. 

To this, lawyer replied in the negative but said he had a doctor's certificate saying Mane was of "unsound mind". However, the high court said that it was not sufficient to have a letter from the doctor about the accused being of "unsound mind". "You (Mane) cannot take such a plea just because you are being treated for this. The trial court should have given a finding to this effect," the bench said. The court was hearing an appeal filed by Mane against death sentence, along with the appeal on confirmation of death penalty given to Mane. In September, 2013, the high court had set aside the death penalty awarded to Mane, noting that the trial court had not heard him on the point of sentence. The court referred the matter back to the trial court, asking it to hear Mane again. The trial court subsequently once again awarded him death sentence. It reasoned that the crime was of the "rarest of the rare" category as Mane had killed people by running them over with an ST bus, fully conscious of the consequences. 

On January 25, 2012, Mane hijacked a state transport bus from Swargate depot in Pune city and went berserk as he drove it around, mowing down whoever came in his path. By the time police chased him down and stopped him, he had left nine people dead and 37 others injured.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/maharashtra-bus-driver-given-death-for-mowing-down-9-pleads-unsound-mind/481829-3-237.html [last accesse 06.02.2015] 

HIV rapist's death sentence commuted

Asseem Shaikh, TNN | Jun 19, 2014, 01.37AM IST PUNE: The Bombay High Court has commuted to life the death sentence awarded to a 29-year-old HIV patient, from Pune. He had raped his seven-year-old niece and then strangled her at Kasegaon village in Sangli in 2011. The bench comprising justices V K Tahilramani and V L Achliya observed, "There can be no doubt that the offence committed by the accused deserves severe condemnation and it is a heinous crime, but on looking at the cumulative facts and on balancing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the case, we do not think that the case falls in the category of rarest of rare cases. Hence, we are not inclined to confirm the death sentence." On March 26, 2013, the district and sessions court at Islampur had convicted and sentenced him to death for raping and murdering the girl. The victim, a resident of Sangli, was studying in standard two in a local school. The prosecution's case is that on February 26, 2011, the man had taken the girl from school to Kalammawadi, near Kasegaon in Walva tehsil and raped her in a sugarcane field. He then strangled her and fled to Pune. When the girl did not come back from school, her mother told her husband. He inquired with the school teacher who had told him that she had gone with her maternal uncle. After a search, the girl's father registered a criminal case with the Kasegaon police station. The rapist was arrested after investigations revealed his involvement in the crime. The victim's body was recovered from the sugarcane field. The trial court had sentenced him to death under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape under section 376 (2) (f) of the IPC. He was also sentenced to three years' rigorous imprisonment each for kidnapping and destroying evidence under sections 363 and 201 of the IPC. The trial court had sent a reference to the high court for confirming the death sentence. He had also filed a criminal appeal challenging the death sentence in the high court. Additional public prosecutor Mankuwar Deshmukh relied on aggravating circumstances to prove that the accused had brutally raped and murdered a defenceless girl. She pleaded to confirm death sentence as the girl was last seen in the company of the accused. She relied on the DNA report to prove that the blood stains found on the victim's frock matched his blood group. She submitted that the rapist was a habitual offender as he had two cases registered against him with the Chinchwad police station here in 2009 and 2011. The HC later found that he had been acquitted in both the cases. The HC appointed lawyer Abhaykumar Apte to represent the man from its legal aid committee. Apte argued that police had not recorded his statement to show that the dead body was recovered at his instance. He also challenged the identification parade of the accused on the grounds that the witnesses had seen him at the police station. The HC's observations Quoting several Supreme Court judgments, the HC bench said, "The man was suffering from HIV and this was the only mitigating circumstance in his favour for commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment." The HC also sought his doctor's advice on whether his life span will be that of an ordinary man if he continued with the medicines. While partly allowing his appeal, the HC on examining the evidence maintained his conviction under sections of the IPC, but commuted the death sentence given for murder to life imprisonment. The HC also commuted the life imprisonment awarded for rape to 10 years RI. However, both the sentences will run consecutively. The sentences of three years RI each awarded for kidnapping and destruction of evidence will run concurrently. The judgment was delivered on May 8 and posted on the HC website on June 18. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/HIV-rapists-death-sentence-commuted/articleshow/36781424.cms [last accessed 06.02.2015]

Baig files appeal in HC against death sentence - Pune sessions court had handed down five-time death sentence to the Indian Mujahideen operative from Beed two months ago

Vijay ChavanPosted On Friday, June 21, 2013 at 08:06:04 AM

Two months after being awarded a five-time death sentence, Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative from Beed, Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig (32), has filed an appeal in the Bombay High Court (HC) against his conviction by the Pune sessions court.

Considering it as the rarest or rare crime, the court of additional sessions judge N P Dhote had awarded the death sentence to Baig on April 18 for playing a major role in the blast at the German Bakery blast on the busy North Main Road in Koregaon Park.

The blast, that had ripped through the popular eatery on February 13, 2010, had killed 17 people and injured over 60 others. Baig filed the appeal through his lawyers, advocates A Rehman and Kainat Shaikh.

Shaikh confirmed that they have filed the appeal, adding, “We are waiting for the HC to admit the appeal on the next date, which is yet to be confirmed. We are hopeful that the judicial procedure will be completed as soon as possible to give some relief to the convict with reduction in the sentence awarded to him.” Shaikh said, “Baig is yet to receive notice from the HC since the state government has filed an application of confirmation of his death penalty.

As per rules, this is mandatory.” On being asked about the grounds on which the appeal has been filed, Shaikh said it would be too soon now to reveal all the details that they are going to put before the court during the appeal hearing.

The court had awarded the capital punishment to Baig under sections 302 and 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 16(A) of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and section 3 of Explosive Substances Act.

Baig, the lone arrested accused, was found guilty of terrorist activities such as planting the bomb and hatching a conspiracy against the nation. The court had accepted the prosecution’s contention that it was a “carefully planned and executed attack, calculated to terrorise the public in general by causing extensive damage to life and property.

Its primary objective was to undermine and reduce faith of the common citizen in the elected government and destabilise the system of law”.

Main culprits still at large.

The ATS has named six other accused —Ahmad Siddibappa Zarar alias Yasin Bhatkal, Riyaz Ismail Shahbandri alias Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Ismail Shahbandri alias Iqbal Bhatkal, Mohsin Choudhary, Fayyaz Kagzi alias Zulfikar Fayyaz Ahmad and Sayyad Zabiuddin Sayyad Zakiuddin Ansari alias Zabi. Ansari was recently arrested in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case.

Source : http://www.punemirror.in/article/2/2013062120130621080610324333dd325/Baig-files-appeal-in-HC-against-death-sentence.html?pageno=1

Pune bus driver Santosh Mane awarded death penalty in road rage case

Express News Service April 08, 2013

Pune: A rogue driver, who hijacked a bus and mowed down nine people on Pune's streets with manic ruthlessness, was awarded death sentence by a sessions court, which termed his crime as "rarest of rare". Additional Sessions Judge V K Shevale handed down the extreme punishment to Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) driver Santosh Mane, 35, after rejecting the defence argument that he committed the crime in "a fit of insanity" and held that he was fully conscious of the consequences of his action. "The accused has committed the murder of nine persons by moving the bus dangerously with the intention and knowledge that the act was so imminently dangerous that it will cause death or bodily harm," the judge observed. Mane, a state transport bus driver, was held guilty of killing nine people and injuring 37 others in a road rage incident that took place on January 25, 2012. On April 3, Additional Sessions Judge V K Shewale had convicted Mane in the infamous road rampage incident. Before announcing the judgment, the judge heard the argument by government district pleader Ujjwala Pawar and defence lawyer Dhananjay Mane. Pawar will seek stringent capital punishment or life imprisonment for Mane while defence lawyers plead for minimum punishment citing him as the sole earning member of the family. Mane has been held guilty under relevant sections, comprising murder, attempt to murder, theft and assault, of the Indian penal Code and also under sections of the Prevention of Public Property Damages Act. On the morning of January 25, 2012, Mane hijacked an ST bus from Swargate depot and went on a rampage killing people besides damaging over 25 vehicles. The police and citizens managed to stop the bus near Neelayam theatre bridge after a hot pursuit lasted 45 minutes on 15 km stretch.
Source : http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/latest-news/Pune-bus-driver-Santosh-Mane-awarded-death-penalty-in-road-rage-case/1099275/

Pune court gives death sentence to labourer for killing wife

Published: Saturday, Mar 19, 2011, 17:57 IST

By Mohsin Mulla | Place: Kolhapur | Agency: DNA 

A construction labourer, who killed his pregnant wife and tried to kill his two children, was given death sentence on Friday morning by the district principal and session judge PD Desai.

The convict, Ramesh Mahipati Randive, 38, aresident of Old Vashi Naka, near Rankala Lake, killed his wife Ashwini on August 6, 2008. Ramesh had also tried to kill his three- year-old son Kedar and 10-year-old daughter Shubhangi. Ashwini was two months pregnant and was requesting Ramesh for abortion due their poor economic condition. The issue was creating frequent quarrels between the couple.Ashwini’s father Dhondiram Pawale persuaded Ramesh for abortion of Ashwini on August 5.

However, on the wee hours of August 6, Ramesh again started quarrelling with Ashwini. At that time Kedar, Shubhangi and Ramesh’s 16-year-old niece Sonali Kate were in the home. Ramesh rammed a wooden pestle five to six times on Ashwini’s head and she died on the spot. 

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_pune-court-gives-death-sentence-to-labourer-for-killing-wife_1521967 accessed on 09th January 2012