The Supreme Court Bench, comprising Justice Surya Kant, Justice Pankaj Mithal, and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, while hearing the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by a Convict, stayed the Bombay High Court's order of execution of his death sentence. The Convict, a man from Kolhapur, was convicted of brutally murdering his mother, dismembering her, and attempting to cook parts of her body.

“Issue notice, returnable on 14.04.2025. Meanwhile, execution of the death sentence shall remain stayed. The records of the Trial Court as well as the High Court, along with translated version and soft copies of the same, be requisitioned," the Court stated.

The gruesome incident occurred on 28th August, 2017, when the Convict killed his 60-year-old mother at their residence, dismembered her body, and attempted to cook the parts using salt and chili powder. The crime was discovered when an eight-year-old neighbor found the victim's body, while the Convict stood nearby covered in blood. The victim was a widow living on a small pension and had been feeding her violent son (the Convict) despite his behaviour.

The Bombay High Court observed that the frail woman had no chance of defending herself against her strong son, whom she had been caring for.

The Bombay High Court division bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Prithviraj K. Chavan upheld the death sentence awarded to the Convict under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (I.P.C.). Further, it was also noted that his act was close to cannibalism and that he could not be reformed.

“Since he was habituated of slaughtering and eating flesh of pigs and cats, perhaps he must have killed his mother in the similar manner in order to eat her flesh, which is evident from the record. We have, therefore, in para 31 of our judgment expressed our view as to how there is a strong probability of the convict having syndrome of pathological cannibalism," the bench stated.

The High Court, while convicting him, also stated that life imprisonment would be risky, as he could be a danger to other inmates, and emphasised the trauma caused to both the victim and society.

Thus, in a differing opinion, the Supreme Court directed that the execution of the death sentence shall remain stayed and listed the matter on 14 April, 2025.

Case Details: Sunil Rama Kuchkoravi vs. The State Of Maharashtra SLP., (Crl) Diary No(s).57476/2024

Advocate for the Petitioner: Vairawan A.S