Shakereh Khaleeli murder: Supreme Court upholds decision to keep Swami Shraddhananda in jail for life

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the review petition filed by murder convict Swami Shraddhananda against a 2008 judgment of the top court which had held that the self-styled Godman will not be eligible for remission of his life sentence [Swamy Shraddananda @ Murali Manohar vs Union of India and ors]

A Bench of Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan upheld the condition set by the top court in 2008 that Shraddhananda will have to remain in prison for the rest of his life without any pre-mature release.

The self-styled godman was found guilty of having buried his wife alive in Bengaluru in the latter's house compound.

The Bench was hearing a plea filed by Shraddhananda to review a July 2008 decision by which the Court had commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment but also ordered that he will have to remain in prison for the remainder of his life without being eligible for remission, parole or furlough.

Recently, the Court had rejected a parole plea filed by 84-year-old.

Shraddhananda, officially named Murali Manohar Mishra, has been in prison for over 30 years after he was convicted for murdering Khaleeli, the granddaughter of the former Diwan of Mysore.

Shraddhananda married Shakereh Khaleeli in 1986. She was previously married to IFS officer Akbar Mirza Khaleeli before she met Shraddhananda. She then divorced Khaleeli and married Shraddhananda.

He is said to have murdered her around 1991 by drugging her and burying her alive in their own backyard. Her remains were found only in 1994 and Shraddhananda 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.

When the matter reached the Supreme Court, his conviction was upheld but his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by a 2008 judgment.

However, the top court clarified that he would remain in jail for the rest of his life, without any scope for remission.

This condition was challenged by Shraddhananda in his review plea.

Shraddhananda's review plea was filed through advocate Varun Thakur.

Senior Advocate Sanjay Hedge with advocates Pranjal Kishore and Madiya Mushtaq appeared for Rehane Khaleeli, the informant in the murder case and the daughter of the deceased (Shakereh Khaleeli).

Advocate Tripurari Ray appeared for Shraddhananda.

Standing Counsel Chitanand Gauda appeared for the State of Karnataka.

A docuseries titled Dancing on the Grave that had chronicled this case and the sordid events leading up to it had also earlier been objected to by Shraddhananda on the ground that it prejudices his remission plea.

Pleas by Shraddhananda to stay the streaming of the show were also dismissed.