BENGALURU: The state High Court on Thursday October 20, stayed the execution of convicted serial rapist B A Umesh alias Umesh Reddy. Umesh Reddy, a former police constable, was convicted in many rape and murder cases including raping and murdering a woman named Jayashree Maradi Subbaiah in 1998.
A division bench of Chief Justice S K Mukherjee and Justice R B Budihal gave time to the state government to file objection to Reddy’s petition for commutation of his death sentence.
The Supreme Court of India had confirmed the death sentence for the convict on October 3, 2016. Preparations were underway at Hindalga jail in Belagavi for the execution of Reddy.
Reddy then moved the High Court and sought stay on execution, arguing that there was a delay of 2 years and 3 months in the disposal of a mercy petition he had filed before the President of India. He also said that he was under solitary confinement for the last 10 years and had developed a mental illness due to which he was taking antipsychotics. The psychiatrist who diagnosed Reddy's mental illness had recommended that he should be treated at Nimhans in Bengaluru.
Reddy also argued in court that being suffering from such illness, he was unable to convey his actual health position in his mercy petition to the President. This in turn led to the decision by the President to reject his mercy petition.
The next hearing has been adjourned for 15 days. Till then Reddy cannot be hanged.
