Rape convicts on death row to pursue studies in jail: Bombay High Court
Two rape convicts have been allowed to continue their education at the Yerwada Central Prison in Pune by the Bombay High Court through the bench of Justices PB Varale and SM Modak in the case of Nitin Gopinath Bhailume and Anr v. The State of Maharashtra through the Principal Secretary, Home Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai and Anr. (WRIT PETITION 6021 OF 2019)
FACTS OF THE CASE:
Three men brutally raped and murdered a 14-year-old girl in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district’s Karjat taluka in Maharashtra in a rape and murder case in 2016. The Ahmednagar District Sessions Court found primary accused Shinde, Santosh Gorakh Bhaval, and Bhailume guilty in the case and sentenced them to death in November 2017.
In 2019, the convicts also approached the High Court for permission to pursue academic careers at open institutions. On April 3, 2021, the bench heard their plea and ordered that an affidavit in reply be submitted to the Superintendent of the Yerawada Central Jail in Pune. Two open institutions were identified in the document as offering courses. However, one of the universities has not yet begun the admissions process for the academic year 2022-2023, according to the statement. It stated that as soon as the admissions process begins, the essential actions for admitting petitioners to colleges will be taken.
The inmates’ lawyer, Rebecca Gonsalvez, claimed that the admission procedure had already begun as per her instructions.
JUDGEMENT:
In light of this statement, the court ordered the Yerawada Central Jail in Pune to obtain relevant advice from university officials regarding the admission procedure and to make suitable efforts to ensure the accused’s admission to the course of their choosing.
JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY REETI SHETTY