Maharashtra - BPO employee rape-murder: SC upholds Bombay HC order commuting convicts’ death penalty to life

09 December, 2024 10:15 pm IST

New Delhi, Dec 9 (PTI) An inordinate delay in the execution of a death sentence has a dehumanising effect on the accused, the Supreme Court observed on Monday as it upheld a Bombay High Court order commuting the death penalty of two convicts in the 2007 Pune BPO employee gangrape and murder case to life term for 35 years.

Dismissing the appeal filed by the Maharashtra government challenging the Bombay High Court judgement, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Masih said keeping a convict sentenced to death in suspense while considering his mercy petitions by the governor or the president for an inordinately long time is certainly agony for him/her. “The only conclusion in this case is that the delay is unexplained and inordinate. Therefore, it is impossible to find fault with the view taken by the high court that there was a violation of the rights of the convicts guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. “Therefore, the commutation of the death sentence to a fixed term sentence of thirty-five years by the high court cannot be faulted,” the bench said.

The top court said undue delay in issuing a warrant of execution can violate the rights of convicts under Article 21 of the Constitution and in this case, there is a delay in three stages. It said on July 10, 2015, the convicts filed mercy petitions addressed to the Maharashtra governor, which were rejected on March 29, 2016. “On June 1,1 2016, mercy petitions were addressed by the convicts to the President of India, which were rejected on May 26, 2017. This is the second part of the delay, and the third part of the delay started on June 19, 2017, when the superintendent of prison informed the sessions judge, Pune, about the rejection of mercy petitions by the president. “Ultimately, it was only on April 10, 2019, that the learned sessions court, Pune, issued the warrants for the execution of the death sentence,” the bench said.

Thus, from July 10, 2015, till April 10, 2019, time was consumed in deciding the mercy petitions filed before the governor and the president, and in issuing warrants for executing the death sentence, it added. The convicts — Purushottam Borate and Pradeep Kokade — were to be executed on June 24, 2019, but the high court said on June 21, 2019, the execution should not take place until further orders. The high court on July 29, 2019, allowed the convicts’ petitions to stay the execution of their death warrant. In its judgement, the top court said, the executive must promptly deal with the mercy petitions filed by the convicts of the death sentence. “In this case, the approach of the executive, and especially the state government, has been casual and negligent. Even the sessions court ought to have been pro-active. “When the delay from the date of filing of mercy petitions till the date of issue of a warrant of execution is inordinate and unexplained, the right of the convicts guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution is violated. This right must be upheld, and it is the duty of the Constitutional Courts to do so,” the bench said.

On November 1, 2007, a Wipro BPO employee, who was then 22 years old, got into the regular cab contracted by the company to report for her night duty in a Pune suburb. Cab driver Borate, accompanied by his friend Kokade, changed the route and took her to a remote place, where they raped her and strangled her with her ‘dupatta’. They also disfigured her face. The duo was convicted and awarded death penalty by a sessions court in March 2012 for kidnapping, raping and murdering the woman. In September 2012, the high court confirmed the punishment and the verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court in May 2015. PTI PKS RHL

This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

Gurugram: HC upholds death penalty to man in 3-year-old’s rape-murder case

Dec 07, 2024

By HT Correspondent, Chandigarh

The case was registered at the Sector-65 police station in Gurugram after dead body of a girl child was found near a temple on November 12, 2018

Terming the act as ‘monster like’, the Punjab and Haryana high court (A division bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma agreed with the reasoning) has confirmed death penalty awarded by a Gururgram court to a 29-year-old man in the rape and murder case of a three-year-old girl child in 2018.

The case was registered at the Sector-65 police station in Gurugram after dead body of a girl child was found near a temple on November 12, 2018. The girl was daughter of a migrant labourer who went missing a day before when her parents were out for work and she was at home with her two brothers and a sister. According to the FIR, the accused, Sunil, lured the girl and took her to a secluded spot where he committed rape and later killed the victim by smashing her head with a brick. The body was found on November 12 and accused was arrested from Jharkhand on November 19.

Police got initial leads from a CCTV footage in which the accused was seen going with the child towards a secluded area and then returning alone. The special POCSO court had sentenced Sunil to death under IPC sections 302 (murder), 376 AB (punishment for rape on a woman under twelve years of age) and Section 6 (aggravated assault ) of POCSO Act on February 21, 2024. The accused had challenged the conviction in the high court while state had filed appeal for confirmation of sentence. The court found that the DNA report had established that blood stains on the body of the victim and other swabs belonged to the convict. Also, he had given a signed confessional statement about the manner in which crime was committed, which matched with the nature of injuries inflicted upon the victim girl.

The court also took note of the fact that it was the convict who got recovered the weapons used in the crime It also took note of trial court observations, which describing the brutal nature of the case had said, “In view of barbarity of the offences committed by the convict, there is no reason to believe that he would be reformed and would not be a menace to the society. He does not deserve any mercy.” “Evidently, the instant case appertains to the gruesome murder of a girl child but after committing rape upon her. It exemplifies dehumanized and ‘monster-like’ conduct of the convict-appellant. As such, for the supra reasons, and, also for the well made reasons by the learned trial Judge concerned, .this court is coaxed to accept the murder reference,” the bench said while upholding the trial court judgment. The court directed that capital punishment be executed after the time of appeal against the judgment elapses.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/gurugram-hc-upholds-death-penalty-to-man-in-3-year-old-s-rape-murder-case-101733509627168.html

Punjab & Haryana High Court Awards Death Sentence To Accused In 3-Year-Old Girl Rape And Murder In Gurugram

By ETV Bharat English Team

Published: December 7, 2024

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has approved the death penalty in the case of rape and murder of a three-year-old girl in Gurugram. The court has also asked to call the executioner as soon as possible to hang the culprit.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court approved the death penalty for the accused of raping and then murdering a three-year-old girl in Gurugram in 2018. The court said that the heinous murder of the girl after raping her is an example of the demonic behaviour of the culprit. In the order, the High Court has asked the District Magistrate to immediately appoint an executioner as per the rules.

The division bench of Justice Suresh Thakur and Justice Sudipti Sharma agreed with the trial court’s decision in February. They said that this case is rare, and after considering the trial court's reasoning, they confirmed that the trial judge made the right decision by sentencing the person to death.

The High Court said in its 41-page order that this case related to the heinous murder of the girl after rape is an example of demonic conduct. It may be recalled that on November 12, 2018, the body of a three-year-old girl was found naked in a pool of blood on the road in Sector-65 of Gurugram. The accused was the neighbour of the victim, who killed the girl after raping her. Under the POCSO Act, the special court of Gurugram sentenced him to death on February 3, 2024. The accused had appealed in the High Court against the sentence.

Source: https://www.etvbharat.com/en/!state/punjab-and-haryana-hc-awards-death-sentence-to-accused-in-3-year-old-girl-rape-and-murder-in-gurugram-enn24120705078

Mannar Jayanthi murder case: Court sentences husband to death

07 Dec 2024

Mavelikkara (Alappuzha): In a landmark verdict, a sessions court here sentenced a man to death for the brutal murder of his wife on Saturday. The verdict was pronounced by Judge VG Sreevidhya of the Additional District Sessions Court in Mavelikkara in the case involving the murder of a 39-year-old Jayanthi, hailing from Mannar, by her husband Kuttikrishnan (60).

Kuttikrishnan

Kuttikrishnan murdered his wife at their residence on April 2, 2004, at around 3 PM. According to the prosecution, Kuttikrishnan suspected his wife of cheating and killed her at her house in Alummoottil, Mannar, in front of their toddler. The prosecution detailed how Kuttikrishnan used a knife, a chisel, and a hammer to murder Jayanthi in a fit of rage. The day after the murder, Kuttikrishnan informed the Mannar police about his wife’s death. Subsequent investigations revealed his involvement in the murder. While initially arrested, he was later granted bail but went into hiding. In 2023, he was arrested again, leading to the conclusion of the long-pending case.

Source: Read more at: https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/crime/court-sentences-husband-to-wife-mannar-jayanthi-murder-case-8001e12e

Chhattisgarh HC commutes death sentence of man convicted of rape and murder of 7-year-old girl, says ‘convict belongs to backward community, reformation can’t be ruled out’

While acknowledging the intensity of the crime, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad also claimed that the case did not meet the stringent 'rarest of the rare' standard required for imposing death penalty as detailed by the Supreme Court.

5 December, 2024

On Wednesday, 4th December, the Chhattisgarh High Court overturned a man’s death sentence for kidnapping, sexually assaulting, and murdering a seven-year-old child in the year 2021. The court commuted the death sentence because the convict belongs to a backward community, saying that there is a chance of him being reformed. While acknowledging the intensity of the crime, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad also claimed that the case did not meet the stringent ‘rarest of the rare’ standard required for imposing death penalty as detailed by the Supreme Court. “These are the incriminating circumstances, but there is no evidence on record that the appellant cannot be reformed or rehabilitated as at the time of the offense he was aged about 29 years and he is a member of the Other Backward Class, thereby he belongs to the backward community and his chances of being reformed or rehabilitated cannot be ruled out,” the bench said.

On February 28th, 2021, the accused escorted the minor dead and her minor brother to a celebration after which he left the girl’s brother at the function and brought her along the railway track in Somni. The accused there had forced sexual intercourse with the minor following which he crushed her head with a huge stone. The accused then disposed of the dead body of the girl on the railway tracks to destroy evidence against him. However, the incident later came to the fore after which an FIR was lodged against the accused identified as Dipak Baghel. The police launched an investigation into the case and based on evidence found Baghel guilty of rape and murder. The accused was then charged by the trial court under sections 302, 201, 363, and 366 of the IPC read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act, and was awarded a death sentence by the court. The trial Court further sent the matter to the High Court under Section 366 of the CrPC for confirmation of the capital sentence. At the same time, the appellant filed an appeal under Section 374(2) of the CrPC, challenging the trial Court’s decision.

The High Court took into consideration all the evidence, DNA reports, and testimonies of the family of the victim and found the accused guilty of rape and murder. The court said, “Thus, after appreciating the entire ocular and medical evidence on record, we do not find any illegality in appreciation of oral, medical, and circumstantial evidence or arriving at a conclusion as to the guilt of the appellant by the trial Court warranting interference by this Court and we accordingly hereby confirm the conviction of the appellant recorded under Section 302 of the IPC.” However, it further heard on the capital punishment of the accused saying that the trial court had committed an error in sentencing the appellant to the extreme penalty of death on the very same day. “The trial Court has not taken into consideration the probability of the appellant being reformed and rehabilitated and has only taken into consideration the crime and the manner in which it was committed and has not given the effective opportunity of hearing on the question of sentence to the appellant. No evidence was brought on record on behalf of the prosecution to prove to the Court that the appellant cannot be reformed or rehabilitated, by producing material about his conduct in jail, and no opportunity of hearing was given to the appellant to produce evidence in that respect,” it observed.

The Court reviewed the report provided by the jail authorities, which highlighted the appellant’s typical behavior while in custody and denied his involvement in any jail offenses. Therefore, taking such report, the appellant’s age, and his social background into account, the Bench concluded, “Though it shocks the consciousness of the society at large, yet, in the facts and circumstances of the case, considering the young age of the appellant, upon thoughtful consideration, we are of the view that extreme sentence of the death penalty is not warranted in the facts and circumstances of the case. We are of the opinion that this is not the rarest of rare cases in which a major penalty of sentence of death awarded has to be confirmed.”

Source: https://www.opindia.com/2024/12/chhattisgarh-hc-commutes-death-sentence-of-man-convicted-of-rape-and-murder-of-7-year-old-girl-as-he-is-from-backward-caste/

'Lack of effective legal aid to lead to infringement of Article 21': Supreme Court acquits man in case for rape-murder of minor

By - Lawbeat News Desk & Salil Tiwari | 4 Dec 2024

The Supreme Court on December 2, 2024, acquitted a man in case of rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl in 2009, holding that the lack of effective legal aid was tantamount to an infringement of the man's fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.

A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Augustine George Masih said it is the duty of the court to ensure that proper legal aid is provided to an accused, and it is also the duty of every Public Prosecutor to point out to the court the requirement of providing the accused with free legal aid to ensure that the trial is conducted fairly and lawfully. Supreme Court says no, "its a mirror reflection of Indian society" Court was dealing with an appeal filed by one Ashok against the Allahabad High Court's judgment, which had commuted his death penalty but directed that he would remain inside jail for the remainder of his life, subject to the exercise of powers regarding remission or clemency by the constitutional functionaries. Examining the matter, the bench took into consideration the lack of legal representation at an effective stage during the trial, non-compliance with requirements under Section 313 of the CrPC, among other issues, as reasons for acquittal.

At the stage of framing the charge, the appellant was not represented by an advocate. From June 8, 2011, the appellant never declined legal aid, the court pointed out. "We are surprised to note that the examination-in-chief of PW-1 (father of the victim) was allowed to be recorded without providing a legal aid counsel to the appellant, who was not represented by an advocate. If the examination-in-chief of a prosecution witness is recorded in the absence of the advocate for the accused, a very valuable right of objecting to the questions asked in the examination-in-chief is taken away. The accused is also deprived of the right to object to leading questions," the court said.

The bench opined that it would not be appropriate to comment on the capabilities of the two legal aid lawyers appointed in the case as they were not parties before it. However, it is sufficient to note that the cross-examination of the witnesses was not up to the mark. Some of the crucial questions that normally would have been put in the cross-examination were not asked, it added. The prosecution had claimed the victim and her seven-year-old cousin went to a tubewell to drink water, where the accused, who worked as an operator, committed the offence after forcibly taking the girl to a cabin.

The victim's father, after being informed about the incident, rushed to the place to find the accused and the body of the girl, but he did not apprehend the appellant. The conduct of not apprehending the appellant, though he was present, was unnatural, the court said. It held that the evidence of the child witness, the only eyewitness, could not be held to be of sterling quality, so it was unsafe to base a conviction solely on his testimony. Even otherwise, taking his testimony as correct, his evidence can, at the highest, be the evidence of the accused being last seen together with the victim, the bench held. In other respects, the bench found that the prosecution failed to prove that the recovery was from a particular place. "Thus, the evidence regarding recovery will have to be kept out of consideration. The recovery of the articles at the instance of the appellant is a very important circumstance in the chain of circumstances. However, this was not proved. Hence, the appellant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt could not be established", it opined. Referring to the examination of the accused under Section 313 of the CrPC, the court said that the material circumstances appearing in evidence against the appellant had not been put to him. "In a given case, the witnesses may have deposed in a language not known to the accused. In such a case, if the material circumstances appearing in evidence are not put to the accused and explained to the accused, in a language understood by him, it will cause prejudice to the accused," the bench said.

Examining the issue of whether this defect could be cured by remanding the matter to the trial court, the court said that considering the long passage of time, there was no option but to hold that the defect could not be cured at this stage. Even assuming that the evidence of PW-2 (cousin) can be believed, the appellant is entitled to acquittal on the ground of the failure to put incriminating material before him in his examination under Section 313 of the CrPC, the bench said. With regard to the issue of providing legal aid to the accused, the bench said, "Having perused the record of the case, we found a very disturbing feature. It is the failure of the state to provide timely legal aid to the appellant. The other issue is about the quality of legal aid. Apart from the provisions of Article 21 and Article 39A of the Constitution of India, the law on the issue of the right to legal aid has been evolved by this Court through its landmark decisions". In this regard, the bench cited Hussainara Khatoon (IV) v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar (1980), M.H. Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra (1978), and Anokhilal v. State of MP (2019), to emphasise that the right to get legal aid is a fundamental right of the accused, guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution. Even under Section 303 of the CrPC, every accused has a right to be defended by a pleader of his choice. Sections 340 and 341 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 correspond to Sections 303 and 304 of the CrPC, the bench pointed out. The court also said if legal aid is provided only for the sake of providing it, it will serve no purpose. The accused is entitled to a legal aid advocate who has good knowledge of the law and experience in conducting trials in criminal cases, it asserted. The court allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court and the trial court's judgments. It also directed that a copy of the judgment be forwarded to all State Legal Services Authorities to enable them to take necessary measures. Case Title: Ashok Vs State of Uttar Pradesh

Source: https://lawbeat.in/supreme-court-judgments/lack-effective-legal-aid-lead-infringement-art-21-sc-acquits-man-rape-muder-child

Supreme Court stays death penalty of man convicted of rape, murder of teen student in Jharkhand

03 December, 2024

New Delhi, Dec 3 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the death sentence of a 30-year–old man convicted of the rape and murder of a 19-year-old engineering student in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Pankaj Mithal and Ujjal Bhuyan summoned the translated copy of the trial court and the high court records convicting and awarding death sentence to Rahul Kumar.

Rahul Kumar | Source: Telegraph

“Death sentence awarded shall remain stayed. The registry to acquisition records from the trial court and the high court along with the soft copy,” directed the bench. On September 9, the Jharkhand High Court confirmed the trial court’s death sentence to Kumar alias Rahul Raj, who hails from Nawada district in Bihar. Aggrieved by the high court order, Kumar moved the top court, which as a matter of practice on the first day of a death sentence petition hearing, stayed the execution of the capital punishment and summoned the records from the subordinate courts.

The killing of the young woman, who was raped, strangled and then set on fire, took place on December 15, 2016. A trial court awarded death penalty to Kumar in December, 2019. The high court in its order said, “Life of a bright young girl aged 19 years who was studying in an engineering college, was snuffed out in a most barbaric manner… is established by the post mortem examination report duly proved by the doctors who formed the medical board to conduct the autopsy over the dead body of the victim.” Terming the crime as a “horrendous act” by the appellant the high court confirmed the capital punishment awarded by the trial court under Section 302 of the IPC.

The high court further said Kumar had come prepared with a cable cord and an electric wire to strangulate the victim besides lubricant oil to set her on fire after the incident. “Strangulation was so intense that cable cord and electric wire got embedded in the neck of the victim. Thereafter, he poured lubricant oil over the body and set her on fire. All this was done on a helpless victim, by this appellant with whom the victim had no past enmity, and after the act, he simply slipped out and absconded,” it said.

The post mortem report established “violent rape with the victim” and throttling her to death, the high court said. “This is not a case where crime was the outcome of sudden spurt of passion, but was diabolically planned and ruthlessly executed. Evidence discloses that appellant stalked the deceased, attempted to take a room on rent in her house, and thereafter, stayed in a room in a nearby temple complex…” the court said. PTI MNL AMK

This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. The Print holds no responsibility for its content.

Source: https://theprint.in/india/sc-stays-death-penalty-of-man-convicted-of-rape-murder-of-teen-student-in-jharkhand/2385429/