Pune: The death sentence awarded to 65-year-old Bhimrao Kamble in the Nasrapur rape and murder case has once again brought the spotlight on Yerawada Central Jail. Yerawada Jail is one of India’s most historic prisons. Kamble, who is currently lodged in the jail, has become its 22nd death row inmate as of now.
The Pune Sessions Court sentenced Kamble to death for the rape and murder of a three-old girl. The verdict came just 58 days after the crime, making it one of the fastest murder trials to end in a death sentence in the country.
Execution Unlikely To Happen Soon…
However, legal experts say the execution is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Under Indian law, every death sentence awarded by a Sessions Court must first be confirmed by the High Court. The convict can then appeal before the Supreme Court and, later, file a mercy petition with the President of India.
At present, 21 prisoners sentenced to death are lodged in Yerawada Jail. Their appeals or mercy petitions are still pending. With Kamble’s conviction, the number of death row inmates in the prison has increased to 22.
35 Executions Till Date At Yerawada…
According to Maharashtra Prison Department records, 35 convicts have been executed by hanging at Yerawada Central Jail since 1950. The last execution at the prison was that of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab on November 21, 2012, for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Yerawada has witnessed several high-profile executions over the decades. In 1992, Khalistani militants Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha were hanged for assassinating former Army Chief General Arun Kumar Vaidya. In 1983, Rajendra Jakkal and three other convicts in the infamous Joshi-Abhyankar serial murder case were also executed at the prison.
The jail also has a strong place in India’s freedom struggle. Built by the British in 1851, it became the execution site for 12 freedom fighters before independence. Among them were the Chapekar brothers, who assassinated British plague commissioner Walter Charles Rand, and the four revolutionaries from the Solapur Martial Law case.
564 Prisoners Await Execution In India…
Although Kamble has received the death penalty, his execution could still take several years. Across India, around 564 prisoners are currently awaiting execution. Of these, nearly 480 cases are pending before various high courts, while around 80 are before the Supreme Court. Four mercy petitions are pending with the president.
Past cases also show that executions take years to complete. The four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case were sentenced to death in 2013 but were executed only in 2020. Yakub Memon, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, was executed in 2015, nine years after receiving his death sentence. Afzal Guru, convicted in the 2001 Parliament attack case, was hanged in 2013, nearly 11 years after his sentence.
Kasab’s case remains one of the quickest. He was sentenced to death in May 2010 and executed in November 2012, about two years later.
In many cases, death sentences awarded by trial courts are later commuted to life imprisonment by higher courts. For this reason, while Kamble’s trial concluded in record time, it is too early to predict when or if the sentence will be carried out.
