Date:01/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/01/stories/2008050155260800.htm

Karnataka

Supreme Court reserves verdict on Shraddananda’s appeal

J. Venkatesan

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on the appeal of ‘godman’ Swami Shraddananda, sentenced to death by the Karnataka High Court for murdering his wife, Begum Shakereh Namazi, who belonged to the erstwhile royal family of Mysore in Karnataka.

In May 2007, a Bench of Justice S.B. Sinha and Justice Markandey Katju held the swamiji guilty of murder but gave a split verdict on the question of awarding sentence.

While Justice Sinha awarded life imprisonment, Justice Katju said the death penalty was the appropriate punishment, and the matter was referred to a three-judge Bench. A Bench of Justice B.N. Agrawal, Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice Aftab Alam reserved judgment at the conclusion arguments from counsel for the State, for the complainant and the appellant.

The main question argued in the case was whether it would fall within the ambit of rarest of rare cases warranting imposition of the death penalty.

If life sentence was to be imposed, can it be for life because the swamiji had been in prison for nearly 17 years after committing the offence, as normally a life convict can be released after 14 years in prison?

Another issue that figured was the powers of the Executive to grant remission to life convicts and at what stage this power could be exercised. The Bench, while reserving verdict, agreed to consider all these aspects.

The prosecution case was that Shakereh, granddaughter of Sir Mirza Ismail, former Diwan of Mysore, had married Shraddananda in 1986, after divorcing Akbar Khaleeli, a former diplomat.

It was alleged that with a view to grabbing the property of his wife, Shraddananda alias Murli Manohar Mishra, had drugged his wife, killed her and buried the body in the compound of her bungalow in Bangalore on April 28, 1991. On a complaint from her daughter, the police exhumed her body and the ‘godman’ was arrested. While the trial court awarded death penalty, it was confirmed by the High Court.

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