Bengaluru GCC employees face long commutes, Wednesdays busiest for office travel: Report
Bengaluru: Employees working in Bengaluru’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are spending close to an hour commuting one way, according to MoveInSync’s quarterly report for 2025. The report, released on Tuesday, highlights the increasing commuting challenges faced by professionals in the city, especially along high-density office corridors like Outer Ring Road (ORR), Whitefield, and Electronics City.
On average, GCC employees in Bengaluru commute 15 kilometres in about 50 minutes. While the city accounts for nearly 30 percent of all GCCs in India, it has seen a 41 percent increase in the number of centres between 2019 and 2024. This growth, combined with inadequate infrastructure and congested roads, has worsened the daily travel experience for employees.
The report, based on commute data from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and the National Capital Region, revealed that hybrid work models are now common across most GCCs, with employees typically reporting to office two to three times a week. Of these, Wednesday has emerged as the busiest day, with cab bookings peaking at around 82,000, compared to 61,000 on Fridays.
Commute patterns also vary by industry. Employees in the industrial and energy sectors travel the farthest—16 km in about 53 minutes. Those in entertainment and gaming have shorter commutes, averaging 11 km in 31 minutes. The pharma and healthcare sector recorded the shortest commute time at 47 minutes over 12 km.
The report noted an encouraging shift towards green mobility, with Bengaluru employees completing approximately 45,000 electric vehicle (EV) trips every month.
MoveInSync CEO and co-founder Deepesh Agarwal emphasized the need for better commute planning. “Providing commute as a service can help companies attract and retain talent. Efficient and sustainable commuting solutions must balance cost, safety, and environmental concerns,” he said.
However, employees working in and around the Outer Ring Road said poor traffic management continues to be a major problem. A senior executive at a GCC remarked that poorly managed metro construction sites, road encroachments, and lack of accessible public transport were making daily commutes unmanageable. “Some people spend over 90 minutes just to reach the ORR stretch. That’s a lot of wasted time,” the executive noted.
Rama NS, advisor to the Electronics City Industries Association (ELCIA), said the completion of the Yellow Line of the Namma Metro could significantly improve commute experience in the coming years. “Beyond reducing travel time, this metro line will help reduce pollution and discomfort caused by long journeys. Improving first-mile connectivity to metro stations will also make a big difference,” she said.
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High courts upheld only 8 per cent of death sentences; SC confirms none in recent years: Report
New Delhi (PTI): Highlighting that a high acquittal rate of death row convicts by the Supreme Court and high courts demonstrates a pattern of "erroneous or unjustified convictions", a study of 10 years of death penalty data has revealed that the top court did not confirm any death sentences in recent years.
The study by Square Circle Clinic, a criminal laws advocacy group with the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, found that an overwhelming majority of death sentences imposed by trial courts did not withstand scrutiny at higher judicial levels. Acquittals far outnumbered confirmations at both the high courts and Supreme Court levels.
According to the report, the trial courts across India awarded 1,310 death sentences in 822 cases between 2016 and 2025. High courts considered 842 of these sentences in confirmation proceedings but upheld only 70 or 8.31 per cent.
In contrast, 258 death sentences (30.64 per cent) resulted in acquittals. The study noted that the acquittal rate at the high court level was nearly four times the confirmation rate.
Data showed that of the 70 death sentences confirmed by high courts, the Supreme Court decided 38 and did not uphold a single one. The apex court has confirmed no death sentences between 2023 and 2025.
"Wrongful or erroneous or unjustified convictions, then, are not random or freak accidents in the Indian criminal justice system. The data indicates they are a persistent and serious systemic concern," the report said.
Over the last decade, high courts adjudicated 1,085 death sentences in 647 cases, confirming only 106 (9.77 per cent). During this period, 326 persons in 191 cases, were acquitted.
The report attributed low confirmation rates to the appellate judiciary’s concerns regarding failures in due process. "This coincides with increased Supreme Court scrutiny of safeguards at the sentencing stage," the report said.
Of the 153 death sentences decided by the apex court over the last decade, the accused were acquitted in 38 cases. In 2025 alone, high courts overturned death sentences into acquittals in 22 out of 85 cases (over 25 per cent). The same year, Supreme Court acquitted accused persons in more than half of the death penalty cases it decided (10 out of 19), the report said.
The study highlighted that 364 persons who were ultimately acquitted "should not even have been convicted and unjustifiably suffered the trauma of death row". It added that such failures extend beyond adjudication and reflect serious lapses in investigation and prosecution.
The question of remedies for wrongful convictions remains pending before the Supreme Court. In September 2025, three persons acquitted by the apex court filed writ petitions seeking compensation from the state and argued that their wrongful convictions violated their fundamental right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
"In 2022, the Supreme Court crystallised a sentencing process in Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh , and mandated all courts to follow those guidelines before imposing or confirming a death sentence," the report read.
In 2025, the apex court held in Vasanta Sampat Dupare v. Union of India that death penalty sentencing hearings form part of the right to a fair trial and stressed that capital punishment can be imposed only after a constitutionally compliant sentencing process.
"However, even at the high courts whether the process mandated under Manoj is being complied with is in doubt,” the report said.
