Nishka Srinivas Veluvali
Published On: January 18, 2022 at 18:26 IST
The Bombay High Court Orders Life Imprisonment to the serial killer sisters after for seven years of execution.
The sisters were Arrested for kidnapping 14 children and murdering 5 of them between 1990 to 1996. They were kept in prison since their Arrest in 1996.
This Judgement was passed by the Bench of Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice SV Kotval on Tuesday, 18 January 2022, stating, “Death Sentence has been commuted to a Life Sentence because of inordinate delay in execution by the Union and State administration even after the rejection of the sisters’ mercy plea”.
The sisters along with their mother were Arrested in October 1996 by the Police for kidnapping children to blackmail and rob parents and then murder them once their work is done. Renuka Shinde, Seema Gavit and Anjanabai Gavit were equally guilty for this Kidnapping Business for approximately 6 years.
Renuka Shinde’s husband was an Accomplice in their Crime but later on turned as Police Witness.
The Accused were sentenced to Death Penalty in 2001 by the Kolhapur Sessions Court for such heinous crime. This Verdict of Kolhapur Sessions Court was endorsed by the Bombay High Court in 2004 and by the Supreme Court in 2006.
As Anjanabai died due illness in 1998, both the sisters proceeded with the Mercy Petition to the Governor in 2008 which was rejected by the Governor in 2013 noting the nature of their crime and the same was done by the then President of India in 2014.
Then the duo Appealed to the Court that due to delay in their execution they have been living in fear of death and so commute their death sentence into Life imprisonment and release them as they have already spent 25 years in prison.
The Bench had granted their first relief by Commuting their Death Sentence to Life Sentence but rejected to release them as they would be “menace” to the society and Ordered that they would be in prison till their natural death.