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1 REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1411 OF 2018 Dnyaneshwar Suresh Borkar …Appellant Versus State of Maharashtra …Respondent JUDGMENT M.R.SHAH, J. 1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order dated 05.05.2006 passed by the High Court of Bombay in Confirmation Case No.1 of 2005 with Criminal Appeal No.618 of 2005 whereby the High Court has allowed the Confirmation Case filed by the State and dismissed the appellant’s Criminal Appeal and confirmed the conviction for the offences punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and confirmed the death sentence awarded by the learned Sessions Court, the accused viz Signature Not Verified Dnyaneshwar Suresh Borkar has preferred the present appeal. Digitally signed by ASHWANI KUMAR Date: 2019.02.27 15:15:36 IST Reason: 2. That the appellant herein-original accused was tried by the

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Dnyaneshwar Suresh Borkar

CASE BRIEF

Jurisdiction

India

Nationalities

Indian

Case Title: Dnyaneshwar Suresh Borkar v. State of Maharashtra

Age at Offence: 21

Age Group at Offence: Adult (18 to 59)

Gender: Male

Religious Group at Offence: Hindu

Vulnerable/ Marginalised Group

Socio-economic Status

Jurisdiction - Geolocation

Latitude: 20.5937

Longitude: 78.9629

Jurisdiction - Geolocation (linked CASE BRIEF): India

Contributing TRP Partner

The Square Circle Clinic (India)

Latest Country's Death Penalty Status

Retentionist

Case Current Status: Closed: Commuted

Year when sentenced to Death Row: 2000s: 2004

Method of Execution: Hanging

Rights Allegedly Violated

Fair Trial and Due Process: Excessive and disproportionate punishment

Nature of Offences for Death Penalty

Kidnapping for Ransom
Murder: Single Victim

Case Background (300 words max): The case against the accused is for kidnapping and murder of a minor.

The trial court confirmed the accused’s conviction and awarded the death sentence on 18.12.2004. The High Court confirmed both the conviction and sentence on 5.05.2006. The appeal before the Supreme Court was dismissed at the threshold with an unreasoned order on 21.07.2006 and the review was dismissed as well on 31.11.2006. However, the after the decision of a 5-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Md Arif & Ors v. Registrar, Supreme Court of India (2014) which granted a right to limited oral hearing for review petitions in death penalty cases, the review petition in the present case was reopened. During that hearing, the court decided to restore the appeal as it was dismissed in limine at first and to hear the matter. While hearing the appeal, the Supreme Court confirmed the conviction but commuted the sentence to life imprisonment, on 20.02.2019.

Defence Arguments (200 words max.)

The defence made the following arguments on sentencing:

The accused had already undergone 18 years of sentence without remission and with remission, amounting to 23.5 years. Mitigating Factors: 2)The accused was aged 22-23 years at the time of the crime, a student with no history of misdemeanour, did not had any criminal record and was not a hardened criminal.
He had a widowed mother and was the eldest child.
His behaviour and conduct in jail had been very good and he had used his incarceration to reflect on his actions and learn from his mistakes.
He was not beyond the pale of reformation and had completed his graduation in Bachelor of Arts (BA) and undergone training of Gandhian thoughts during his time in prison. The poems written by him reflected his changed state of mind.

Judgement with Headnotes (200 words max): The court was accepted the defence’s arguments for commutation of the death sentence.The court held that there was little likelihood of the appellant having become a hardened criminal or remaining to be a threat to society, and thus the case did not fall into the ‘rarest of the rare’ category that would warrant confirming the death sentence, and commuted it to life imprisonment.

Legal Representation Received