Supreme Court Commutes Death Penalty Amidst Delays

The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision to commute the death penalty of two convicts in a 2007 Pune BPO gangrape and murder case to a life term, citing undue delays in the execution process. The court highlighted how prolonged uncertainty violates convicts' rights under Article 21.

The Supreme Court of India has upheld a Bombay High Court judgement that commuted the death penalty of two convicts involved in the 2007 Pune BPO gangrape and murder case to a 35-year life sentence. The decision cited an unexplained delay in the execution process.

A bench including Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Augustine George Masih remarked that the protracted timeline of handling mercy petitions inflicted psychological distress on the convicts, thus breaching their rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The court criticized the state government's handling, stating that from July 2015 to April 2019, delays across various stages, including petition reviews by the governor and president, violated procedural duties, warranting the commutation of the death penalty.

(With inputs from agencies.)