SC affirms death to duo for murder, rape of BPO staff

The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence to a cab driver and his male friend for raping and murdering a 22-year-old BPO employee in Pune in 2007.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, dismissed the appeal filed by Purushottam Borate and his friend Pradeep Kokate against the order of the Bombay High Court which had awarded death penalty to the duo in 2012. Describing them as a "menace to society", the apex court held that their act fell within realms of "the rarest of the rare" category which merits death penalty and "none else".

"The collective conscience of the community is so shocked by this crime that imposing alternative sentence, i.e. a sentence of life imprisonment, on the accused persons would not meet the ends of justice," the bench, also comprising Justices SA Bobde and Arun Mishra, said. Expressing concern over crimes against women, the bench said "society today has been infected with a lawlessness that has gravely undermined social order. Protection of society and stamping out criminal proclivity must be the object of law."