The hanging of two men scheduled to take place on Thursday in Belgaum in Karnataka was stayed on Wednesday by the Supreme Court which agreed to examine their petitions seeking commutation of capital punishment to life imprisonment on the ground that there was a delay of six years in rejection of their mercy pleas by the President.
The petitioners, Shivu Munishetti and Jadeswamy Rangashetti, were sentenced to death in July 2005 for the brutal rape and murder of an 18-year-old girl in Karnataka’s Chamarajnagar district in 2001. The verdict was upheld by the Karnataka high court and later confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2007. Their mercy petitions were rejected by the President earlier this month.
Tagging the duo’s plea with other cases in which the top court has stayed executions of death row convicts, a bench headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam issued notice to the Karnataka government seeking its response on the petition.
Earlier in the day, Shivu allegedly attempted suicide in Hindalga jail in Belgaum in Karnataka amid preparations by prison authorities to hang him along with the other convict. Shivu slashed his private parts and a wrist with a blade, according to prison officials. He was being treated in the jail and might be shifted to a district hospital, they said.
Shivu and Jadeswamy were arrested by Chamarajnagar police in connection with the rape and murder of an 18-year-old girl on October 15, 2001. The two were sentenced to death by a trial court in July 2005.
The Karnataka high court rejected their appeal and confirmed their death penalty in October 2005. The Supreme Court had upheld the high court verdict in 2007. President Pranab Mukherjee had rejected their mercy plea early this month.