The Supreme Court of India has declined to entertain a plea seeking an expeditious decision on the mercy petition filed by Swami Shraddhanand, the 87-year-old self-styled godman convicted for the gruesome murder of his wife, Shakereh Khaleeli.
Shraddhanand, who has been incarcerated for over three decades, sought a direction for the swift disposal of his pending mercy petition before the President of India.
Key Court Decision
A Supreme Court bench comprising Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Vijay Bishnoi refused to grant the request for an urgent listing and direction for an expedited decision on the mercy plea.
The non-grant of the urgent listing means that the convict’s plea, which sought relief primarily on the grounds of his advanced age (87 years) and the long period of incarceration, will follow the normal course of judicial listing and executive procedure.
Background of the Case
The Murder of Shakereh Khaleeli
Swami Shraddhanand, originally named Murali Manohar Mishra, was convicted for the sensational murder of his wife, Shakereh Khaleeli, the granddaughter of Sir Mirza Ismail, a former Dewan of Mysore. The crime, which occurred in 1991, shocked the nation due to its sheer brutality and cold-blooded nature.
- The Crime: Shraddhanand sedated Khaleeli by lacing her tea and subsequently buried her alive in a specially constructed pit in the backyard of their sprawling bungalow on Richmond Road, Bengaluru, primarily to usurp her property worth hundreds of crores.
- Discovery: Her remains were discovered only in 1994, years after she was reported missing by her daughter.
- Conviction & Sentence: A trial court initially sentenced Shraddhanand to death in 2000, which was upheld by the Karnataka High Court in 2005.
Supreme Court’s ‘Life Imprisonment Till Death’
In 2008, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction but commuted the death sentence to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life, with the specific and rare direction that he shall not be released from prison for the rest of his life, meaning no parole or remission. This special category of punishment was invoked due to the horrific nature of the crime.
Shraddhanand has since repeatedly sought judicial remedies, including filing a review petition challenging the 2008 verdict and filing various pleas for parole, all of which have been rejected by the apex court.
