Date:29/10/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/10/29/stories/2005102905900500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

High Court suspends order sentencing Shraddananda

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Friday suspended for three months its order sentencing the self-styled godman Shraddananda to death for murdering his wife, Begum Shakereh Namazi, granddaughter of Sir Mirza Ismail, former Dewan of Mysore.

On September 19, 2005, the court upheld and confirmed the order of a lower court and rejected a criminal revision petition by Shraddananda, 69, against the May 21, 2005 order of B.S. Thotad, 23rd Additional City, Civil and Sessions Judge, sentencing him to death.

Stayed

A Division Bench comprising Justice S.R. Bannurmath and Justice A.C. Kabbin, which had upheld his conviction and sentence, on Friday stayed its order after it received a letter from Shraddananda, who is lodged in the Central Jail in Belgaum.

In his letter, Shraddananda had made three prayers.

The first prayer was that he wanted time to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court order sentencing him to death.

He also sought return of articles labelled as material objects (MO) 5. He wanted the court not to destroy them. The articles include a will by Shakereh, a general power of attorney giving Shraddananda the right over her property and his passport.

Shraddananda also sought return of the skeletal remains of Shakereh as she was his wife. Moreover, he wanted the skeletal remains to be buried as per the Hindu rights.

The court, however, rejected this prayer as he had not objected to the remains being handed over to Shakereh's family members.

The court not only suspended the death sentence by three months, but also ordered that the articles sought by Shraddananda should not be destroyed.