- (1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order, passed by the High Court of Judicature for Maharashtra at Bombay in Confirmation Case No.1 of 2012 and Criminal Appeal No.632 of 2012, dated 12.09.2012, 13.09.2012, 24.09.2012 and 25.09.2012. By the impugned judgment and order, the High Court has confirmed the judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed by the Court of Sessions Judge, Pune in Sessions Case No.284 of 2008, dated 20.03.2012, whereby the learned Sessions Judge has convicted the accused-appellants for the offence under Sections 302, 376(2)(g), 364 and 404 read with Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, "the IPC") and consequently awarded death sentence.
(2.) The Prosecution case in a nutshell is: The deceased was residing with her brother-in-law and sister, namely PW-12 and PW-13 respectively, along with their minor son, in a flat in Pune City. She was serving as an Associate in the BPO Branch of Wipro Company in Pune (for short, "the Company") for about a year, where she used to work in the night-shift, i.e. from 11:00 p.m. to 09:00 a.m. The fateful day was to be her last day since she had tendered her resignation one month prior. The Company had arranged for and hired a private cab service to transport its employees from their residence to the workplace and back at the conclusion of their respective work-shifts. Further, to ensure the safety and security of its female employees the Company imposed a mandatory condition, upon the owner of the cab, that a security guard be present in the said vehicle, if a female employee was being transported.
(3.) On the fateful day, being 01.11.2007, the cab was deputed to pick up the deceased from her residence at 10:30 p.m., following which the cab would collect three other employees of the Company. As per the usual practice, at about 10:15 p.m., the deceased received a missed call from the driver of the cab, Purushottam Borate, namely Accused No.1, informing her of the pick-up. The deceased called back the Accused No.1 to pick her up in 10 minutes to take her to the workplace, upon which PW-12 and his son went down from their flat to drop her to the cab. At the time of the pick-up, Pradeep Kokade, namely Accused No.2, was sitting in the rear seat behind the driver. The next employee to be collected by the cab was one Sagar Bidkar, i.e. PW-11, and the expected time of the said pick up was at about 10:45 p.m.;