Poet Madhumita Shukla Murder Case: SC Refuses To Stay Release Of Ex-UP Minister, Wife

The Supreme Court has refused to stay the release of former UP minister Amarmani Tripathi and his wife in 2003 murder case of poetess Madhumita Shukla.

Madhumita Shukla Murder Case: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the "premature" release of jailed former UP Minister Amarmani Tripathi and his wife Madhumani Tripathi in the Madhumita Shukla murder case and issued notice on the plea of deceased poetess sister, reported ANI. The couple have been serving life sentences at the Gorakhpur district jail for their involvement in the murder of Madhumita at her Lucknow residence on May 9, 2003. The top court has not passed any order against the release of Tripathi and his wife.

Meanwhile, the sister of deceased poetess Madhumita Shukla, Nidhi Shukla urged the UP CM to stop Tripathi and his wife's release. The court has posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks.

"I request the UP Governor and UP CM to stop their release...RTI applications state that Amarmani actually never went to jail. He can do anything...What if he murders me, then no one will be left to advocate this case?...what kind of law & order is there in UP?" she added.

"I have been running from pillar to post, but didn't get justice till today. Such useless are the governments that they couldn't send Amarmani Tripathi to prison despite the court giving him life imprisonment," Nidhi Shukla said.

According to PTI, the prisons department on Thursday issued an order for the premature release of Amarmani Tripathi, citing the state's 2018 policy on remission, since they have completed 16 years of imprisonment, reported PTI. Notably, Tripathi and his wife were serving life terms in poet Madhumita Shukla murder case.

In its statement, the department also cited their old age and good behaviour as Amarmani is 66 and Madhumani is 61, it added.

Reacting to it, UP Prisons minister Dharamveer Prajapati said that it was all done based on the prison policies.

"The release of prisoners from jail is based on prison policies and on the conduct of the prison inmates. Only after directions from the Governor and CM, the orders for the release of a prisoner are given," the minister added.

On May 9, 2003, poet Madhumita, who was pregnant, was shot dead in Paper Mill Colony, Lucknow. Later, Amarmani Tripathi was arrested in the case September 2003 in as he was allegedly in a relationship with Shukla.