The Supreme Court yesterday stayed the execution of a man convicted of the gruesome murder of his mother and consuming parts of her organs. A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Pankaj Mithal, and Ujjal Bhuyan issued the stay and directed notice to the State of Maharashtra.
The petitioner, Sunil Kuchkoravi, was accused of killing his mother in August 2017. His arrest followed an incident where a neighborhood child saw him standing near his mother’s blood-soaked body.
According to the prosecution, Kuchkoravi had a troubled personal life. His wife left him, taking their three daughters and son, due to his abusive behavior fueled by alcohol addiction. Left to live with his mother, who received a monthly pension of ₹4,000, Kuchkoravi frequently argued with and assaulted her while intoxicated.
In July 2021, a Sessions Court in Kolhapur convicted him of the crime and sentenced him to death, citing the “extreme brutality and shamelessness” of the act, which, it said, had shaken the “collective conscience of society.”
When the case reached the Bombay High Court, Kuchkoravi’s defense argued that his actions may have been influenced by his habit of consuming the flesh of cats and pigs. However, the High Court upheld the death sentence, deeming the case one of the “rarest of rare.” It observed that the petitioner not only killed his mother but also removed organs such as her brain and heart and intended to cook them on a stove.
The High Court further described Kuchkoravi’s conduct as bordering on cannibalism, concluding that a life sentence would be insufficient, as his release could endanger both fellow inmates and society. The court also noted his lack of remorse and the absence of any potential for rehabilitation. “Allowing such a person to be free would essentially grant him license to commit similar offenses against members of society,” it emphasized.
Case Title: Sunil Rama Kuchkoravi v. The State of Maharashtra, Diary No. 57476-2024
