The Bombay High Court has permitted a death row convict, sentenced for murdering and eviscerating his mother in an inebriated state with an intention to eat her, to attend his daughter’s wedding for three days.
A division bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and P D Naik directed the Kolhapur jail authorities, where the man is lodged, to take him to his house on three days — February 23 to February 25 — from 9 am to 6 pm.
The Kolhapur sessions court, in 2012, found Sunil Kuchkoravi guilty of the offence and sentenced him to death. Pending confirmation of his death sentence by the HC, as required by the law, Kuchkoravi sought temporary bail for a week from the HC to attend the wedding.
HC makes exception in this case
Although in capital punishment cases, the convicts are not entitled to temporary bail or other reliefs like parole or furlough, the court said that it was inclined to allow the convict in the present matter to be taken to his house for three days as his daughter was getting married.
To the court query on why death sentence was imposed in a murder case, Kuchkoravi’s advocate Yug Chaudhari said that in an inebriated state, he killed his mother and removed her organs and kept them on a table.
When the court questioned regarding the motive behind the crime, Chaudhari said it was not clear. “We don’t know the motive. Even his family is shocked. He was a wonderful man, they all say. Unblemished record,” said Chaudhari, adding: “He used to have frequent headaches so he used to consume liquor.”
Why Court made an exception for convict
The advocate pointed out to the court that Kuchkoravi comes from poor financial background and hence can not afford to pay escort charges incurred on police personnel taking him to the wedding venue.
The justices then exempted the convict from paying escort charges, and directed the competent authority of the Maharashtra government to make the necessary payments to policemen who will escort him.
A sessions judge in Kolhapur had convicted and sentenced Kuchkoravi to death for offence of murder in July 2021. The sessions judge had then remarked the case falls in the category of “rarest of rare” as it shook the conscience of society.
The state government had filed a sentence confirmation plea before the HC in 2021 itself. The confirmation plea is yet to be heard.
