The Bombay High Court on Wednesday admitted the petition of the two killer sisters, Renuka Shinde and Seema Gavit from Kolhapur, seeking commutation of their death sentence to life term. The women have been convicted for brutally killing nine children and abducting 13.
The court also allowed the non-governmental organisation, Majlis, to intervene in the petition. The NGO, working for women’s rights, has opposed the death sentence.
The court has directed the Maharashtra government and the Central government to file a reply to the petition within two weeks. The petitioners have been given time till September 9 to file a reply.
The petitioners represented by advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry argued for the maintainability of the petition before the High Court. He sought commutation of the sentence on the ground of delay in execution of the sentence.
Mr. Chaudhry argued that the supervening circumstances after the confirmation of death sentence by the Supreme Court and the rejection of mercy plea by the President were relevant for commuting the sentence. He said that the High Court had the power under Article 226 of the Constitution to admit the plea.
Flavia Agnes, noted feminist and founder of Majlis, submitted an intervention application stating that the accused hailed from marginalised background and were very young when they committed the crime. She said the women were abandoned by their father and that Majlis wants to bring forth the peculiar circumstances in which they committed the crime.
