Overview
- A division bench of Justices Ajey S. Gadkari and Neela Gokhale dismissed appeals by Maharashtra and the victim’s father seeking capital punishment and rejected Sajjad Mugal Pathan’s challenge to his conviction.
- The decision affirms the Mumbai sessions court’s July 2014 verdict sentencing the building’s security guard to life imprisonment for murder, molestation and house trespass.
- Case records state Pathan cut power to the Wadala flat, used access with an electrician to obtain keys, returned at night, attempted sexual assault and fatally stabbed the 25-year-old lawyer.
- The High Court pronounced its order on Monday after reserving judgment on August 14, with the detailed reasoning expected to be released.
- Following his conviction, Pathan was granted parole in 2016, failed to return and went underground before being rearrested later, an episode that prompted scrutiny of parole oversight.