Lawyer, held guilty of abducting doctor & acquitted of murder, released on remission after 19 years in Yerawada jail
Pune: Leena Deosthale (65), who was serving a life sentence for the abduction of orthopaedic surgeon Dr Deepak Mahajan after being acquitted of murder, has walked out on remission after spending 19 years in Yerawada Central Prison.
Deosthale's daughter, Deepti, who is undergoing life imprisonment in the case, has also applied for remission. Her plea is pending before a five-member Sentence Review Board of state govt for consideration.
Leena, then a lawyer, and Deepti, a cookery expert and writer, are from Dahisar in Mumbai. According to police, they allegedly kidnapped and murdered 47-year-old Mahajan by forcibly giving him an overdose of sedatives after a foiled bid for a Rs25-lakh ransom in July 2006.
Pune police arrested them on July 7, 2006, and later filed a chargesheet.
On Dec 27, 2007, a fast-track court in Pune sentenced the mother-daughter duo to death. Bombay high court in 2009 acquitted them of murder for lack of evidence but convicted them for the doctor's abduction and ransom, and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Leena applied for remission through the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Pune, because she spent 19 years in actual imprisonment and 26 years with remission since her arrest on July 7, 2006.
The state prisons department opposed her plea on grounds of her complicity in a serious crime, and that her appeal against conviction was pending for hearing before the Supreme Court.
DLSA's pro-bono lawyer Sachin Salunkhe, who represented Leena before the Sentence Review Board, said that under the guidance of DLSA secretary Sonal Patil, they meticulously reviewed the case, highlighting her incarceration, her remorse, her old age, and her potential for rehabilitation.
Their efforts, rooted in the principle 'hate the sin, not the sinner' emphasised restorative justice and the possibility of reintegration into society.
The Supreme Court, in its order of Sept 15, 2022, said that the cases of convicts spending 14 years in jail could be referred to govt for considering their premature release in a fixed time, irrespective of whether the appeal is pending or not, Salunkhe said.
"The state govt resolution of 2006 states that a woman convict is eligible for remission if she has completed 60 years, undergone 14 years of rigorous imprisonment, and if she is physically weak.
Another govt resolution of 2008 states that in cases relating to abduction with ransom under section 364 (a) of the Indian Penal Code, if a convict, irrespective of gender, has spent 10 years in jail with remission, totalling 16 years, is entitled to claim remission," he said.
The board, after considering the apex court ruling and govt resolutions, on May 16 issued an order granting remission to Leena. She was released from jail on May 23, Salunkhe said.
"Her release marks a milestone in the ongoing discourse on criminal justice reform, rehabilitation, and the balance between punishment and mercy." The prisons department also opposed Leena's remission on grounds that she had not deposited a fine of Rs59,000 as per the trial court's order.
Salunkhe deposited the fine amount on her behalf to secure her release on remission.
Pune: Leena Deosthale (65), who was serving a life sentence for the abduction of orthopaedic surgeon Dr Deepak Mahajan after being acquitted of murder, has walked out on remission after spending 19 years in Yerawada Central Prison.
Deosthale's daughter, Deepti, who is undergoing life imprisonment in the case, has also applied for remission. Her plea is pending before a five-member Sentence Review Board of state govt for consideration.
Leena, then a lawyer, and Deepti, a cookery expert and writer, are from Dahisar in Mumbai. According to police, they allegedly kidnapped and murdered 47-year-old Mahajan by forcibly giving him an overdose of sedatives after a foiled bid for a Rs25-lakh ransom in July 2006.
Pune police arrested them on July 7, 2006, and later filed a chargesheet.
On Dec 27, 2007, a fast-track court in Pune sentenced the mother-daughter duo to death. Bombay high court in 2009 acquitted them of murder for lack of evidence but convicted them for the doctor's abduction and ransom, and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Leena applied for remission through the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Pune, because she spent 19 years in actual imprisonment and 26 years with remission since her arrest on July 7, 2006.
The state prisons department opposed her plea on grounds of her complicity in a serious crime, and that her appeal against conviction was pending for hearing before the Supreme Court.
DLSA's pro-bono lawyer Sachin Salunkhe, who represented Leena before the Sentence Review Board, said that under the guidance of DLSA secretary Sonal Patil, they meticulously reviewed the case, highlighting her incarceration, her remorse, her old age, and her potential for rehabilitation.
Their efforts, rooted in the principle 'hate the sin, not the sinner' emphasised restorative justice and the possibility of reintegration into society.
The Supreme Court, in its order of Sept 15, 2022, said that the cases of convicts spending 14 years in jail could be referred to govt for considering their premature release in a fixed time, irrespective of whether the appeal is pending or not, Salunkhe said.
"The state govt resolution of 2006 states that a woman convict is eligible for remission if she has completed 60 years, undergone 14 years of rigorous imprisonment, and if she is physically weak.
Another govt resolution of 2008 states that in cases relating to abduction with ransom under section 364 (a) of the Indian Penal Code, if a convict, irrespective of gender, has spent 10 years in jail with remission, totalling 16 years, is entitled to claim remission," he said.
The board, after considering the apex court ruling and govt resolutions, on May 16 issued an order granting remission to Leena. She was released from jail on May 23, Salunkhe said. "Her release marks a milestone in the ongoing discourse on criminal justice reform, rehabilitation, and the balance between punishment and mercy." The prisons department also opposed Leena's remission on grounds that she had not deposited a fine of Rs59,000 as per the trial court's order.
Salunkhe deposited the fine amount on her behalf to secure her release on remission.
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