PUNE BPO EMPLOYEE'S RAPE-MURDER CASE
Safety of Working Women Should Be Public Concern: HC
Rosy Sequeira TNN
Mumbai: The safety of working women should be treated as a matter of public concern, the Bombay High Court has said in its detailed judgment confirming the death penalty for the rapists-killers of Pune BPO employee Jyotikumari Chaudhary.
On November 1, 2007, Chaudhary (22), who worked with Wipro's BPO at Hinjewadi, was raped and killed by Puroshottam Borate (then 26), the driver of a car hired by her company, and his friend Pradeep Kokade (then 20).
The high court, on September 17, 2012, upheld the death penalty awarded to the two.
In their 159-page judgment uploaded on October 23, 2012, a division bench of Justices V M Kanade and P D Kode categorically stated that women in the town would not be safe if the duo were released, and there is no guarantee that they would not commit the same or a similar offence. “The accused committed the said act in a cold-blooded and diabolical manner,” they said, adding that they are beyond reformation. The judges said they acted on their own with the sole object of disregarding civilized and moral values of showing respect and dignity to a woman and her life.
The judges said neither their age, nor their family background, nor even their lack of criminal antecedents would be mitigating circumstances in their favour. “So far as accused no.1 (Borate) is concerned, he was happily married and his wife was pregnant at the relevant time. However, the accused no.1 (Borate) did not take into consideration the condition of his wife or his mother while committing the said offence and, as a result, his wife deserted him and his widowed mother is being looked after by his nephew and niece. So far as accused no.2 (Kokade) is concerned, he has two sisters who are looking after his widowed mother,” the judges wrote.
The judges said there was a blatant violation of rules laid down by the company. According to the rules, if the first pickup is of a female employee, there has to be a security guard in the vehicle. They added that Kokade not only disobeyed the rule but ensured that Borate, with whom he had a tacit agreement, traveled with him and sat in such a position where he could overpower Jyotikumari, in case she resisted. “Safety of women who travel alone while going to work or while coming back to their residences either from their office or from the airport is a matter of public concern,” said the judges.
Adding that the issue of their security must be addressed, they requested the chief justice to convert it into a public interest litigation to lay guidelines or issue directions to the government as well as private companies and public organizations.
Source:
Times of India, Mumbai
26/10/2012
Safety of Working Women Should Be Public Concern: HC
Rosy Sequeira TNN
Mumbai: The safety of working women should be treated as a matter of public concern, the Bombay High Court has said in its detailed judgment confirming the death penalty for the rapists-killers of Pune BPO employee Jyotikumari Chaudhary.
On November 1, 2007, Chaudhary (22), who worked with Wipro's BPO at Hinjewadi, was raped and killed by Puroshottam Borate (then 26), the driver of a car hired by her company, and his friend Pradeep Kokade (then 20).
The high court, on September 17, 2012, upheld the death penalty awarded to the two.
In their 159-page judgment uploaded on October 23, 2012, a division bench of Justices V M Kanade and P D Kode categorically stated that women in the town would not be safe if the duo were released, and there is no guarantee that they would not commit the same or a similar offence. “The accused committed the said act in a cold-blooded and diabolical manner,” they said, adding that they are beyond reformation. The judges said they acted on their own with the sole object of disregarding civilized and moral values of showing respect and dignity to a woman and her life.
The judges said neither their age, nor their family background, nor even their lack of criminal antecedents would be mitigating circumstances in their favour. “So far as accused no.1 (Borate) is concerned, he was happily married and his wife was pregnant at the relevant time. However, the accused no.1 (Borate) did not take into consideration the condition of his wife or his mother while committing the said offence and, as a result, his wife deserted him and his widowed mother is being looked after by his nephew and niece. So far as accused no.2 (Kokade) is concerned, he has two sisters who are looking after his widowed mother,” the judges wrote.
The judges said there was a blatant violation of rules laid down by the company. According to the rules, if the first pickup is of a female employee, there has to be a security guard in the vehicle. They added that Kokade not only disobeyed the rule but ensured that Borate, with whom he had a tacit agreement, traveled with him and sat in such a position where he could overpower Jyotikumari, in case she resisted. “Safety of women who travel alone while going to work or while coming back to their residences either from their office or from the airport is a matter of public concern,” said the judges.
Adding that the issue of their security must be addressed, they requested the chief justice to convert it into a public interest litigation to lay guidelines or issue directions to the government as well as private companies and public organizations.
Source:
Times of India, Mumbai
26/10/2012