Crime
Kids’ kidnap-murder case: Bombay HC commutes death verdict for 2 to life
Bombay High Court.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday commuted the death sentences on two prime accused – both step-sisters – to life term till death in jail, in the sensational case of the kidnapping of 13 minor children and murdering at least 5 of them, that rocked the state in the early 1990s.
The accused, Seema Mohan Gavit, 39, and Renuka Kiran Shinde, 45, were arrested by Maharashtra Police in 1996 and have so far spent around 25 years under the shadow of the hangman’s noose, at the Yerawada Central Jail, Pune.
Another prime accused and their mother, Anjana, who was also arrested and charged in the case, passed away in 1998 during the pendency of the trial.
A division bench of Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Sarang Kotwal commuted the death penalty, rapping the delays by the government authorities in taking a decision on the mercy pleas of the two.
In 2001, the half-sisters were convicted and awarded the death penalty by the Kolhapur Sessions Court for the stunning kidnappings of 13 children and killing 5 of them brutally.
The death sentence was confirmed by the Bombay High Court in 2004 and then the Supreme Court in 2006.
The sisters had earlier filed mercy pleas before the Governor in 2008 that were declined in August 2013, and later to the President, which was rejected in July 2014, even as people from the USA Japan, Canada, and India appealed to the President for commuting the death verdict, saying that execution of women is extremely rare.
After the rejection of their appeals from both the Governor and the President, they moved the Bombay High Court.
The matter was taken up urgently on August 19, 2014, as the two sisters awaited the gallows that day.
The Public Prosecutor issued telephonic instructions to the YCJ Jail Superintendent Yogesh Desai to stop the hangings till their pleas were heard and the matter came up on the board the following day.
The petitioners contended that the government machinery did not adhere to the rules that required utmost expediency and resorted to a “most casual approach” resulting in a delay of nearly 8 years, which the division bench upheld.
The sisters contended, through their lawyer Aniket Vagal, that the delay was attributable to the executive including the Governor and the Maharashtra Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the President, which was denied by the Centre’s lawyer Sandesh Patil.
The judges noted that from the date of the sisters submitting their mercy plea on September 1, 2006 till it was finally disposed of on July 30, 2014, it took 7 years, 10 months and 15 days.
Justice Jamdar and Justice Kotwal also observed how the chronology showed that there was “nothing but the movement of files, delay, and casual approach demonstrated at each stage” and the state government moved “as if it was a routine file, perhaps even slower than that”, at each stage “officers exhibited utter casualness”.
The court also frowned at how, in the period between 2006-2014, modern electronic communication facilities, email, courier, transportation were easily available to all government officers, and termed as “abhorrent” the movement of files/papers in such a crucial matter within the state or the city after gaps of 15 days, month, six months or up to one year.
It also commented on how the matter was circulated before the court only by the petitioner-sisters in 2021 and not by the government since 2016, and the manner in which the two convicts were kept isolated in the ‘Death Convict Yard’ which has an ominous connotation, and was described as “brooding horror of hanging, daunting the prisoner in the condemned cell” by the late Justice Krishna Iyer.
However, the evidence on record shows the kids were brutally murdered, showing the “depravity” of the two convict-sisters which was “heinous and beyond words to condemn”, the bench said, ordering “life imprisonment is till the life of the convict” unless the competent authority decides otherwise, though the (convicts) were beyond reform for society.
The court also cancelled the unexecuted death warrants against the two sisters and disposed of the petition.
Mumbai, Dec 9: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday said it has filed a criminal case against Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL) and its promoters and directors over allegedly causing wrongful loss of Rs 57.47 crore to Bank of Maharashtra.
The case has been registered against RCFL — a company of Reliance ADA Group, its promoters/directors and unknown bank officials, on the allegations of criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct and thereby, the CBI said in a statement.
According to the statement, the loan account of Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd was declared an NPA by the bank on March 25, 2020 and also as fraud on October 4, 2025, for causing wrongful loss of Rs 57.47 crore to Bank of Maharashtra.
“RCFL was availing loans to the tune of Rs 9,280 crore from 31 banks/ FIs/NBFCs/Corporate Bodies, etc., including Bank of Maharashtra. A thorough investigation will be conducted into the allegations of defrauding all the banks/FIs, etc. by the accused company,” said the CBI.
The probe agency obtained search warrants from the court of a Special CBI judge, Mumbai and commenced searches at the official premises of RCFL at Mumbai and the residential premises of Devang Pravin Mody, Director of the company, at Pune, on December 9.
“Several incriminating documents have been observed and are being taken into possession during searches. Searches are in progress,” the CBI said.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a supplementary charge sheet against Reliance Power Ltd and 10 others, in the case of fake bank guarantees of Rs 68 crore submitted by Reliance Power Limited to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for the purpose of securing a tender issued by it. ED attached the proceeds of crime worth Rs 5.15 crore as well.
Reliance Power Ltd said in a statement that “ED allegations have not yet passed through judicial scrutiny and the Company has not been held guilty of any wrongdoing”.
“As per law settled by the Supreme Court, the company will get an opportunity to put across its case and facts before the court, even before cognisance, so filing of this complaint does not affect the affairs of the company in any manner,” said the company in an exchange filing.
Mumbai: Mangaluru City Police have arrested a Mumbai native accused of uploading social media posts that promoted feelings of enmity or hatred in 2024.
The accused, who was working in Saudi Arabia, was arrested at Mumbai Airport based on a Look Out Circular (LOC).
The accused, Felix Edward Mathais (aged 56), is alleged to have circulated derogatory posts about the Bhagavad Gita and women in February 2024.
A case was registered against him at the Kankanady City Police Station under sections 153(A), 504, 507, 509 of the IPC and Section 66(D) of the IT Act.
At the time the case was filed, Mathais was in Saudi Arabia for employment, which prevented his arrest. The accused, originally from Charkop, Mumbai, was the subject of an LOC issued by the police following information gathered about his overseas employment.
The accused landed at Mumbai Airport from abroad. Immigration officials detained him and informed the Mangaluru Police. Subsequently, he was arrested at the Airport on December 5, 2025.
He was brought to Mangaluru for investigation and produced before the Court. A report has been submitted to the court requesting the confiscation of his passport.
Another accused in the case, Evigin John D’Souza (aged 57), was previously arrested on August 11, 2024, and produced before the court.
The investigation into the case is ongoing.
Crime
Palghar Crime: 40-Year-Old Constable Arrested For Allegedly Raping Woman Inside Kasa Police Station
Palghar, Maharashtra, Dec 08: A 40-year-old police constable has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman inside the Kasa police station in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, officials said on Monday.
According to a senior official from the Palghar rural police, the incident took place last week when the woman had visited the station to record her statement in connection with an ongoing case. The constable allegedly assaulted her within the premises.
Following a complaint filed by the woman, a case of rape was registered and the constable was arrested on Sunday, officials confirmed.
In the aftermath of the incident, the in-charge of the Kasa police station has been transferred. Further investigation is underway.
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