Cell to deal with mercy petitions for death row convicts: Why Maharashtra govt has set this up

The SC gave this order while hearing an appeal filed by the Maharashtra state government against the commutation of the death penalty of two persons convicted for the rape and murder of a Wipro BPO employee in Pune in 2007.

While the trial court had awarded the death sentence to the two convicts, the Bombay High Court commuted the sentence to 35 years of life imprisonment. The SC upheld the Bombay HC decision on the grounds that the convicts were kept waiting regarding the status of their mercy petitions for nearly four years.

Nine-member committee

An order issued by the Maharashtra Home Department on Wednesday said that based on the Supreme Court order, a meeting was held on February 30, 2025 to set up a dedicated cell. “In this meeting, a detailed discussion was held regarding the establishment of a dedicated chamber,” the order read.

The nine-member committee includes senior officers from prisons, court officials among others who are to meet once every three months to deal with any pending mercy petitions in a prompt manner.

An official said, “Like in the Pune case, where convicts get advantage on account of delays in dealing with mercy petitions and it is unfair to them as well. Hence this committee will ensure that their mercy petitions are heard at the earliest by the relevant authorities and the status is conveyed to them.”

The Pune case

In the Pune case, the convicts — Purshottam Borate and Pradeep Kokade — filed mercy petitions before the Governor on July 10, 2015 which were rejected on March 29, 2016. They then addressed mercy petitions to the President of India who were rejected the pleas on May 26, 2017.

The Superintendent of Police then informed the Pune Sessions Judge after a delay, and the death warrant was issued only on April 10, 2019 — four years after they had filed mercy petitions.

The duo was to be executed on June 24, 2019. Three days prior to that, their death sentence was stayed by the Bombay HC, and later commuted to 35 years of imprisonment.