Blitz Bureau
THE Supreme Court has directed all states and Union Territories to constitute a dedicated cell for the prompt processing of the mercy petitions by death row convicts within the timeline laid down by the respective governments, according to Live Law.
“A dedicated cell shall be constituted by the Home Department or the Prison Department of the State Governments/Union Territories for dealing with mercy petitions. The dedicated cell shall be responsible for the prompt processing of the mercy petitions within the time frame laid down by the respective governments”, the court held on December 9. An official from the Law and Judiciary or Justice Department will be attached to the dedicated cell.
A Bench of Justices Abhay Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Augustine George Masih also held that Sessions Court on receiving order confirming death penalty must immediately issue notice to the public prosecutor seeking information on pending appeals, review/curative petition or mercy plea and periodically monitor pending proceedings to ensure timely issuance of execution warrants once all legal avenues are exhausted. The court laid down detailed procedural guidelines to be followed by the executive as well as the judiciary for handling mercy petitions and execution of death sentences to prevent delays in the process. Mercy petitions must be forwarded to the Secretariats of the Governor or President immediately for further action. As far as possible, all communication should be conducted via email to ensure efficiency, barring cases where confidentiality is required.
The Apex Court dismissed appeals by Maharashtra challenging the 2019 Bombay High Court judgment that commuted the death sentences of two convicts, Purshottam Borate and Pradeep Kokade, to life imprisonment with a fixed term of 35 years. The case involves the 2007 gang rape and murder of a 22-year-old Pune BPO employee.
