‘Barbaric, grotesque and close to cannibalism’: Bombay HC upholds death sentence of man convicted for murdering mother, eating her organs

“We confirm the sentence of death. The convict is informed about his right to take an appeal before the Supreme Court in 30 days. The convict not only murdered his mother but also removed her body parts and he was about to cook her heart and was about to eat it. This is a case of cannibalism and we found it worth it to be of the rarest of rare category. There is no scope for his reformation as his tendency is cannibalism. It is a barbaric grotesque murder of the mother,” the bench noted.

The prosecution claimed that Kuchkoravi murdered his 60-year-old mother Yallava Rama Kuchkoravi on the afternoon of August 28, 2017, in Makadwala Vasahat in Kolhapur city. He later desecrated the body and ate some of the organs after frying them in a pan.

“The circumstances indicate pathological cannibalism of the convict. The act of the convict was quite close to cannibalism…He is not at all fit for any kind of reformatory and rehabilitation scheme. Life imprisonment would be completely futile as the sentencing aim of reformation is completely unachievable,” the bench noted. It added that during an interaction with the convict through video conferencing, the court did not find ‘any penitence or repentance on his face.’

“Normally, a deep regret should have come from him with a deep sense of guilt. He just feigned innocence contending that he does not remember anything,” Justice Chavan for the bench noted.

“Apart from the extreme brutality, cruelty and barbarism with which the convict had murdered his mother in a cold-blooded manner, one cannot turn Nelson’s eye that his conduct was akin to cannibalism and, therefore, he could be a potential threat and danger to the inmates in the jail, in case, sentence of life imprisonment is awarded. A person who could commit such a heinous crime by killing his mother, can do so with anyone else, including his own family.

His social integration, therefore, is unquestionably foreclosed,” it further observed.

“We have taken into account not only the gruesome, merciless, brutal and inhuman act of the convict but also the improbability of his reformation in case he is awarded an alternative sentence of life imprisonment. The act of the convict had indeed shocked the conscience of the society. Under the circumstances, showing mercy or leniency to such a person, would be misplacing the concept of mercy. That apart, showing leniency would be a mockery of the criminal justice system. Therefore, the death penalty imposed by the trial court, needs to be confirmed and accordingly stands confirmed,” the bench held.

In July 2021, the sessions court in Kolhapur convicted Kuchkoravi and sentenced him to be hanged to death for murdering his mother and extracting her body organs with the intention to cook and eat them. The trial court observed it was “the rarest of the rare” cases and said it “shook the social conscience of the society.” The sessions court also observed that there was no repentance or remorse in Kuchkoravi’s behaviour following committing the crime.

“The pain which she (the mother) had experienced cannot be explained in words. He has committed the offence in order to satisfy his lust for liquor. He forcibly eliminated the life of his helpless mother, which is the ultimate insult of motherhood,” additional sessions judge Mahesh Krishnaji Jadhav observed then.
The high court also sought psychiatric and a psychological report, as well as a probation welfare officer’s report of Kuchkoravi.

In February last year, the high court allowed Kuchkoravi to attend his daughter’s wedding with a police escort.