Bombay High Court urged to strike balance between rights of convicts and victim’s family

Source: freepressjournal.in

Mumbai: Opposing the petitions filed by two death row prisoners, the Maharashtra government on Thursday told the Bombay High Court to strike a balance between the rights of the convicts, the family of the victim and also the collective conscience of the society. The duo have urged the HC to commute their death sentence into life citing the ‘inordinate’ delay by the government to execute the capital punishment, which was confirmed by the President of India at least four years ago. A bench of Justices, Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Swapna Joshi is hearing the pleas filed by the two convicts – Purushottam Borate and Pradeep Kokade, who were awarded death sentence for raping and killing a BPO employee in Pune in 2007. The duo have claimed that the inordinate delay in executing them has violated their fundamental rights.

“The excessive and unexplained delay which is of over four years (1,509 days) in execution of the death sentence causes unavoidable pain, suffering and mental torture that constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, which is violative of our right to life,” the duo contended. Opposing the plea, Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, the Advocate General (AG) said the court has to maintain a balance between the rights of convicts, the victim’s family and the society at large. “What about the victim’s family and the collective conscience of the society? This court has to maintain a balance between all this along with the rights of the convicts,” Kumbhakoni submitted. The AG further defended the government, by trashing the contention of the convicts regarding the inordinate delay. “There has been no delay on the part of the government or authorities at the prison, where the two are lodged, in initiating and completing necessary procedure.

These convicts under the garb of this so called delay are only trying to seek a court order commuting their sentence,” AG Kumbhakoni submitted. Kumbhakoni further highlighted the fact that the death sentence awarded to both Borate and Kokade have been confirmed by the HC as well as the Supreme Court. He further informed the bench that their mercy petitions have also been turned down by the Governor of Maharashtra and also by the President of India. “This whole process of law will be defeated, if at this stage the death penalty is commuted to life imprisonment,” AG Kumbhakoni pointed out.

Borate and Kokade are scheduled to be executed on June 24 for raping and killing a BPO employee in Pune in 2007. The victim had got into her regular cab contracted by the company to report for her night duty on November 1, 2007 in a Pune suburb. The cab driver Borate, accompanied by his friend Kokade, changed the route and took her to a remote place where they raped and later strangled her with a dupatta (stolen), according to the prosecution.