Mon Dec 09 16:20:33 UTC 2024: ## Supreme Court Commutes Death Sentences to Life Imprisonment Due to Excessive Delays

**New Delhi** – The Supreme Court of India has commuted the death sentences of two convicts in the 2007 Pune BPO gangrape and murder case to life imprisonment for 35 years. The court cited inordinate and unexplained delays in processing their mercy petitions as a violation of their constitutional rights.

Purushottam Borate and Pradeep Kokade were convicted in 2012 for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of a 22-year-old Wipro BPO employee. Their death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court in 2015. However, the execution was repeatedly delayed due to protracted processing of mercy petitions filed with the Maharashtra governor and the President of India.

The court highlighted three distinct periods of delay: from the filing of the mercy petitions in July 2015 to their rejection by the governor in March 2016; from the filing of subsequent petitions with the President in June 2016 to their rejection in May 2017; and finally, the time between the President’s rejection and the issuance of execution warrants by the Pune sessions court in April 2019 – a delay of nearly four years.

The Supreme Court deemed this delay “inordinate and unexplained,” ruling that it violated the convicts’ rights under Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees protection of life and personal liberty. The court criticized the “casual and negligent” approach of the executive branch and the sessions court in handling the mercy petitions.

Justice Abhay S Oka, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Justice Augustine George Masih, the judges on the bench, upheld the Bombay High Court’s decision to commute the death sentences, stating that the prolonged wait constituted a dehumanizing experience for the convicts. The Supreme Court emphasized the need for prompt processing of mercy petitions in death penalty cases. The convicts, originally scheduled for execution in June 2019, will now serve a life sentence with a fixed term of 35 years.

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