Archive · 7 Oct 2026
Bombay High Court Reserves Verdict in Kopardi Death Penalty Case
The case is about the 2016 rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Kopardi.
A lower court sentenced three men to death in 2017.
One of them, Jitendra Shinde, died in prison in 2023, so the case against him ended.
The Maharashtra government wants the High Court to approve the death sentences for the other two men.
The government says evidence shows they helped plan or carry out the crime.
Their lawyers say DNA and tooth-mark tests did not link them to it.
The High Court visited the village and heard arguments about what happened and when.
It has reserved its decision, meaning it will announce its ruling later.
The Bombay High Court reserved its judgment on the state’s request to confirm death sentences and appeals by convicts in the 2016 Kopardi case.
The case concerns the July 13, 2016, rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl.
An Ahmednagar sessions court sentenced Jitendra Babulal Shinde, Santosh Gorakh Bhawal and Nitin Gopinath Bhailume to death in November 2017.
Proceedings against Shinde ended after he died by suicide at Yerwada Central Jail in 2023.
The state cited circumstantial evidence and alleged joint criminality; the defence said forensic tests excluded Bhawal and Bhailume.
- Who
- The Maharashtra government and the remaining convicted men, Santosh Gorakh Bhawal and Nitin Gopinath Bhailume; the case concerns a 15-year-old victim.
- What
- The Bombay High Court reserved judgment on the state’s death-penalty confirmation plea and the convicts’ appeals.
- When
- The crime occurred on July 13, 2016; the High Court reserved its judgment on October 7, 2026.
- Where
- The case concerns Kopardi village in Ahilyanagar district and is before the Bombay High Court.
- Why
- The state seeks confirmation of the death sentences, while the convicts appeal their convictions.
State's arguments
Defence arguments
Evidence and involvement
State's arguments
The state argued that witness testimony and the accused men’s conduct from July 11 to 13 formed an unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence showing joint criminality.
Defence arguments
The defence argued that forensic tests excluded Bhawal and Bhailume and that their convictions rested on constructive liability.
Death penalty
State's arguments
The state said the crime’s nature and the evidence justified confirming capital punishment for the remaining convicts.
Defence arguments
The convicts appealed their convictions; the article reports the defence challenge but does not specify a separate argument about the appropriate sentence.
- Incident date
- July 13, 2016
- Victim
- A 15-year-old girl
- Sessions court sentences
- Death sentences for three accused in November 2017
- Proceedings against Jitendra Shinde
- Abated after he died by suicide at Yerwada Central Jail in 2023
- High Court action
- Reserved judgment after hearing arguments and conducting a spot inspection
- State's position
- Circumstantial evidence and alleged joint criminality warrant death sentences for the remaining convicts
- Defence position
- Tooth-mark analysis and DNA profiles excluded Bhawal and Bhailume, the defence argued