President Droupadi Murmu has rejected the mercy petition of a man who was convicted of kidnapping, raping, and killing a two-year-old girl in Maharashtra in 2012. Officials confirmed the decision on Sunday. This is the third mercy plea rejected by President Murmu since she took office on July 25, 2022.

The convict, Ravi Ashok Ghumare, was earlier awarded the death penalty by a trial court for the brutal crime. His sentence was later upheld by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, in its judgment dated October 3, 2019, confirmed the death sentence and described the crime as extremely cruel and shocking.

In its verdict, a three-judge bench of the  Supreme Court said that Ghumare had crossed all moral, social, and legal limits. The bench noted that he had no control over his sexual urges and committed a horrific crime against a child who was barely two years old. The judges said the accused had “ruthlessly ended a life that had not yet begun to bloom.”

The judgment was delivered by a bench led by Justice Surya Kant, who is now the Chief Justice of India. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, who has since retired, was part of the majority verdict. One judge dissented, making it a 2:1 decision. The court said that instead of protecting the child and showing care and affection, the accused betrayed trust and treated the child as an object of lust.

The Supreme Court described the crime as a horrifying act of brutality. It said the offence showed a deeply perverted mindset and caused serious damage to social values and trust.

According to the prosecution, the incident took place on March 6, 2012, in the Indiranagar area of Jalna city in Maharashtra. The accused allegedly lured the child by offering her a chocolate. He then kidnapped her and assaulted her for several hours. The child later died due to the injuries.

The trial court convicted Ghumare on September 16, 2015, and sentenced him to death. The Bombay High Court upheld the death sentence in January 2016. After exhausting all legal options, Ghumare filed a mercy petition with the President of India.

According to information released by the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the mercy plea was formally rejected on November 6, 2025. With this decision, the legal process in the case has reached its final stage. The case has once again drawn attention to crimes against children and the strict punishment awarded in rare and extremely brutal cases.