STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. PRADEEP YASHWANT KOKADE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The main question involved in these appeals is about the effect of delay in executing the death sentence.

(2.) The deceased was employed in a company as an Associate. The deceased was required to attend the night shift between 11:00 pm and 09:00 am. On 1/11/2007, one Purushottam Dasrath Borate (Convict no.2) was scheduled to pick up the deceased from her residence at 10:30 pm. Convict no.2 was the driver of the cab hired by the employer of the deceased. As per usual practice, Convict no.2 gave a missed call to the deceased. After receiving the missed call, the deceased came down. After picking up the deceased, Convict no.2 was supposed to pick up one Sagar Bidkar, an employee of the same company. Though Sagar repeatedly called Convict no.2, there was no response. At about 12:45 am, Convict no.2 came to pick up Sagar. When Sagar sat in the vehicle, one Pradeep Yashwant Kokade (Convict no.1/Respondent no.1) was already occupying the car's rear seat. Convict no.1 introduced convict no.2 to Sagar as his friend. Before the vehicle reached the company's office, Convict no.1 alighted from the car. Convict no.2 requested Sagar to endorse in the company's record that the delay was due to the puncture of a tyre in the vehicle.

(3.) On the morning of 2/11/2007, when the deceased did not return home, her sister enquired with the office of the deceased. She was told that the deceased had not reported for duty. The deceased's sister lodged a missing person report with the local Police Station. The body of the deceased was found on the morning of 2/11/2007. In the postmortem report, the cause of death was stated as shock and haemorrhage due to grievous injuries to the vital organs. There was a fracture of the skull involving the frontal, left temporal, and parietal bones with a laceration to the brain. Rib nos.2, 3 and 4 were fractured and the right lung was ruptured. The postmortem report recorded that the deceased was raped before her death. On 3/11/2007, both the convicts were taken into judicial custody. By the judgment dtd. 20/3/2012, the learned Sessions Judge, Pune, convicted both the convicts for the offences punishable under Ss. 302, 376(2)(g), 364, and 404, read with Sec. 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, 'the IPC'). Both the convicts were sentenced to death. The proceedings were sent to the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in accordance with Sec. 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, 'the CrPC') for confirmation of the death penalty. By the judgment dtd. 25/9/2012, the High Court held that the case of the convicts was falling in the category of 'rarest of the rare case'. Therefore, the High Court proceeded to confirm the death sentence. This Court also confirmed the death sentence by the judgment dtd. 8/5/2015.