Bombay High Court commuted his sentence to life imprisonment on grounds that the act was not so barbaric.
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A resident of Jalna district was awarded a death sentence for killing his unborn child and mother-in-law in 2015. However, the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court, on Tuesday, commuted his sentence to life imprisonment on grounds that the act was not so barbaric.
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“No doubt, the crime is heinous and condemnable,” said the bench of Justice Ravindra Gauge and Justice BU Debadwar, stated Hindustan Times. But Krishna Pawar’s crime does not warrant the imposition of capital punishment, noted the bench.
According to the prosecution, on October 24, 2015, Pawar went to see his wife at Walkhed after his wife left home to live with her parents in Jalna, on grounds of harassment by her husband.
Pawar’s wife who was 9 months pregnant at the time arrived at the spot with her mother and aunt (mother’s sister) to discuss the issues faced by the couple.
The accused attacked all three women resulting in the death of his unborn child and his mother-in-law. His wife and her aunt survived the attack.
The session’s court of Jalna, on June 18, 2020, awarded him a death sentence terming the act rarest of rare. However, Bombay HC upheld his conviction but commuted the death penalty handed down to him.