STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & ORS. versus PRADEEP YASHWANT KOKADE & ANR.

Citation: [2024] 12 S.C.R. 574 · Decided: 09-12-2024 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: ABHAY S. OKA · Disposal: Disposed off

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Judgment (excerpt)

[2024] 12 S.C.R. 574 : 2024 INSC 947
State of Maharashtra & Ors. 
v. 
Pradeep Yashwant Kokade & Anr.
(Criminal Appeal No. 2831 of 2023)
09 December 2024
[Abhay S. Oka,* Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine 
George Masih, JJ.]
Issue for Consideration
Effect of delay in executing the death sentence.
Headnotes†
Sentence – Death sentence – Inordinate, unexplained delay in 
execution of – Delay in processing, disposal of mercy petitions 
and issue of warrant of execution of the death sentence – 
High Court commuted the death sentence of the convicts to 
thirty-five years of imprisonment holding that there was an 
undue and avoidable delay in executing the death sentence – 
Challenge to:
Held: Impugned judgment upheld – An inordinate and unexplained 
delay caused by circumstances beyond the prisoners’ control 
mandates the commutation of a death sentence – When the delay 
from the date of filing of mercy petitions till the date of issue of a 
warrant of execution is inordinate and unexplained, the right of the 
convicts guaranteed by Article 21 is violated – The time consumed 
from the filing of mercy petitions before the Hon’ble Governor to 
the date of issue of the execution of warrants by the Sessions 
Court is of three years, eleven months and fourteen days – On 
facts, time was consumed from 10th July 2015 till 10th April 2019 
in deciding the mercy petitions filed before the Hon’ble Governor 
of the State and the Hon’ble President of India, and in issuing 
warrants for executing the death sentence – There has been an 
undue, unexplained and inordinate delay at all three stages – 
Undue delays occurred in placing the mercy petitions before the 
Hon’ble Governor for the State and the Hon’ble President of India 
which delay was on the part of the executive and not on the part 
of the Constitutional functionaries – When the mercy petitions 
* Author
[2024] 12 S.C.R. 
575
State of Maharashtra & Ors. v. Pradeep Yashwant Kokade & Anr.
were pending, the Sessions Court could not have issued a warrant 
to execute the death sentence – Sessions Court ought to have 
acted upon the several letters from the Prison and issued notice 
to the State Government however, that was not done – High Court 
rightly held that there was a violation of the rights of the convicts 
guaranteed u/Article 21 – Commutation of the death sentence to 
a fixed term sentence of thirty-five years cannot be faulted with.
[Paras 34-36, 42]
Directions by Supreme Court – Death Sentence – Administrative 
delays in dealing with mercy petitions or execution of death 
penalty – Directions/Guidelines issued to State Governments, 
Union Territories and Sessions Court to curb the delays – Code 
of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – ss.413, 414:
Held: A dedicated cell to be constituted by the Home Department or 
the Prison Department of the State Governments/Union Territories 
for dealing with mercy petitions, which shall be responsible for the 
prompt processing of the mercy petitions within the time frame 
laid down by the respective governments – An officer-in-charge 
of the dedicated cell shall be nominated by designation who shall 
receive and issue communications on behalf of the dedicated 
cell – An official of the Law and Judiciary or Justice Department 
of the State Governments/Union Territories should be attached 
to the dedicated cell – All the prisons to be informed about the 
designation of the officer-in-charge of the dedicated cell and his 
address and email ID – Further, as soon as the Superintendent 
of Prison/officer-in-charge receives the mercy petitions, he shall 
immediately forward the copies thereof to the dedicated cell and 
call for the details/information, as stated, from the officer-in-charge 
of the concerned Police Station and/or the concerned investigation 
agency – On receipt of the request made by the jail authorities, 
the officer-in-charge of the concerned police station shall furnish 
the said information to the jail authorities immediately – On receipt 
of the said information, without any delay, the jail authorities shall 
forward the documents as enumertaed to the officer-in-charge of 
the dedicated cell and the Secretary of the Home Department of 
the State Government – As soon as mercy petitions are received 
by the dedicated cell, copies thereof shall be forwarded to the 
Secretariats of the Hon’ble Governor of the State or the Hon’ble 
President of India, as the case may be so that the Secretariat can 
initiate action at their end – All

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