Mumbai: The high-profile attempted rape and murder of 25-year-old corporate lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha in 2012 was not a “rarest of rare” case and the perpetrator does not deserve the death sentence, the Bombay High Court held on Monday.

The division bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Neela K Gokhale dismissed two petitions by the Maharashtra government and Atanu Purkayastha – Pallavi’s father and a retired IAS officer – seeking enhancement of the life sentence awarded to Sajjad Ahmed Abdul Aziz Mughal alias Sajjad Pathan to death. ADVERTISEMENT

The court also dismissed an appeal by Pathan, seeking acquittal in the matter.

Pathan was a security guard at the building in Wadala, Mumbai, where Pallavi lived. Investigation revealed that Pathan deliberately cut off the power supply to Pal

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