Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday stayed the execution of death sentence of two convicts, till further orders. The duo were sentenced to death by a Sessions Court in Pune for raping and killing a BPO employee in 2007. The duo - Purushottam Borate and Pradeep Kakade - were scheduled to be hanged on June 24, however, they moved the bench of Justices Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Swapna Joshi, seeking to commute their death into life. They cited the inordinate delay by the Maharashtra government in executing the death sentence by over four years.
Appearing for the state government, Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, Advocate General (AG) informed the judges that there was no delay on part of the State and instead it is the fault of the Sessions Court, which did not respond to the continuous letters written by the jail authorities and the government seeking a warrant for the execution. The counsel appearing for the convicts informed the judges that the Union home ministry refused to furnish four documents, based on which a report was prepared and sent to the President of India for deciding the mercy petition.
He informed the bench that on June 16, the Central Information Commissioner (CIC) had ordered the union government to hand over the documents. Having heard the submission, Justice Dharmadhikari said, "We are of the opinion that the convicts must be given a fair chance to fight their case. Let the Union file an affidavit spelling out if it is ready to hand over the documents." "Until further orders, the authorities are ordered not to proceed with the execution," Justice Dharmadhikari said.
The judges have accordingly adjourned the petition for further hearing till June 25. The convicts, in their plea, claimed that the inordinate delay of over four years has violated their fundamental right as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The plea has been opposed by the government urging the bench to strike a balance between the rights of the convicts and that of the victim's family.
