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Shraddhanand's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court but he was directed to remain in jail for the rest of his life, without any remission or parole
Supreme Court has today issued notice in the review petition filed by Swami Shraddhanand who is currently undergoing life imprisonment for the murder of his wife Shakereh Khaleeli.
A bench of Justices Gavai, Mishra and Vishwanathan has also rejected a parole plea filed by 84-year-old 'godman'. This is in fact the second parole plea filed by Shraddhanand aka Murali Manohar Mishra which has been rejected by the top court.
Court has issued notice on the review petition filed by Shraddhanand against a 2008 decision by which his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on the condition that he remain in jail for the remainder of his life, with no parole, furlough or remission.
The bench was told today that people change over time. "Am I still the same person at the time of commission of the offence? I got 'best qaidi' award 5 times. Furlough and parole was given to Rajiv Gandhi assassins also, who were terrorists", court was further told.
In April last year, the top court had denied parole to Swami Shraddhanand while allowing him to withdraw his writ petition which was in fact filed 10 years ago.
Court had then further clarified that the dismissal of the writ petition would not prejudice other remedies open to the self-styled godman. Shraddhanand had also filed an application last year seeking to stop circulation of web series Dancing On The Grave, which released on Amazon Prime video, submitting that it prejudiced his case pending before the Supreme Court.
In 1991, Shraddhanand had murdered Shakereh Khaleeli by drugging her and burying her alive in their own backyard. Her remains were discovered in 1994 and Swamy Shraddhanand was arrested for the crime.
A trial court in Bengaluru convicted him for the murder and sentenced him to death in 2000. The trial court verdict was upheld by the Karnataka High Court in 2005. In an appeal, the Supreme Court, his conviction was upheld but his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by a 2008 judgment.
Case Title: SWAMY SHRADDANANDA @ MURALI MANOHAR MISHRA vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.
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