Sun Dec 14 16:47:58 UTC 2025: ## Summary:
President Droupadi Murmu has rejected the mercy petition of Ravi Ashok Ghumare, convicted of the 2012 kidnapping, rape, and murder of a two-year-old girl in Maharashtra. This is the third mercy plea rejected by President Murmu since taking office in July 2022. The Supreme Court upheld Ghumare’s death sentence in 2019, citing the extreme brutality and perversion of the crime. The trial court and Bombay High Court had previously convicted him and upheld the death penalty.
News Article:
President Murmu Rejects Mercy Plea in Gruesome Child Murder Case
New Delhi – December 14, 2025 (The Hindu): President Droupadi Murmu has rejected the mercy petition of Ravi Ashok Ghumare, sealing his fate for the horrific 2012 kidnapping, rape, and murder of a two-year-old girl in Jalna, Maharashtra. The decision, disclosed by Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday, marks the third rejected mercy plea by President Murmu since assuming office in July 2022.
Ghumare’s conviction stems from the brutal crime committed on March 6, 2012, where he lured the toddler with chocolate before subjecting her to hours of abuse, culminating in her death. The heinous act sparked widespread outrage and calls for justice.
The Supreme Court, in its 2019 ruling affirming the death sentence, described Ghumare’s actions as surpassing “all natural, social and legal limits,” exhibiting a “dirty and perverted mind” and a “horrifying tale of brutality.” Justice Surya Kant, now Chief Justice of India, wrote in the majority verdict that Ghumare had “ruthlessly finished a life which was yet to bloom.”
The trial court initially convicted Ghumare on September 16, 2015, and sentenced him to death, a decision upheld by the Bombay High Court in January 2016. President Murmu’s rejection of the final appeal brings the case to a definitive close, upholding the established convictions and sentences. The case has been a focal point for debates surrounding capital punishment and the severity of justice for crimes against children.
First Piper 