SC confirms death penalty for rapist from Karnataka

“We are satisfied that the extreme depravity with which the offences were committed and the merciless manner in which death was inflicted on the victim, brings it within the category of rarest of rare cases which merits the death penalty,” a Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and A K Pathak said.

 The court declined any leniency to the convict who had raped and smothered the victim after tying her hands behind.

The court also took into consideration that Umesh is a habitual offender who was earlier convicted for various offences.

“The antecedents of the appellant and his subsequent conduct indicates that he is a menace to society and is incapable of rehabilitation. The offences committed by the appellant were neither under duress nor on provocation and an innocent life was snuffed out by him after committing violent rape on the victim,” the court said.

Umesh raped and killed the victim Jayashri who was alone in the house at the time of the offence in the 1998.  The convict had tied her hands behind and raped her before smothering her to death. He then fled with the valuables of the house.

 Umesh was later arrested when he was attempting to commit the same offence in another house.  After eight years of fast track proceedings, the sessions court awarded death sentence to Umesh on October 26, 2006 and it was upheld by the Karnataka High Court.  The convict had then approached the apex court challenging his conviction and death sentence.