HC frees tandoor case convict
New Delhi, December 21
The Delhi High Court on Friday ordered “forthwith” release of former Youth Congress leader Sushil Kumar Sharma, serving a life sentence for murdering his wife Naina Sahni in 1995. Sharma has already undergone over two decades of incarceration.
The order was passed by Justices Siddharth Mridul and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal. Sharma, now 56, shot his wife in 1995, objecting to her alleged relationship with a male friend. He then chopped her body and tried to burn the pieces in a restaurant oven.
The tandoor (oven) case is one of the landmark cases in India in which DNA evidence was collected and a second autopsy performed to establish the guilt of the accused. The HC quashed the recommendations of the sentence review board (SRB) which had rejected Sharma’s representation for premature release. It also set aside the “non-speaking affirmation” of SRB’s recommendations by the Lieutenant Governor, who is the competent authority.
“We accordingly direct that the state shall release Sushil Sharma forthwith,” the Bench said. The court had earlier issued a notice to the Delhi Government and sought its stand on Sharma’s plea for release on the grounds that he has been jailed for over two decades, including the period of remission, and his continued incarceration was illegal.
Sharma, in prison since 1995, had contended that he has already undergone the maximum prescribed sentence as mandated under the SRB guidelines. — PTI
Murder most foul
Jul 2, 1995: Police recover burnt body of Naina Sahni from Baghiya restaurant in Ashok Yatri Niwas; manager Keshav Kumar held
July 10: Police arrest Sushil Sharma in Bangalore
July 27: Chargesheet is filed against the accused
May 9, 1996: The trial court frames charges of murder, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence against five accused in case
Nov 3: Trial court convicts Sushil Sharma of murder
Nov 7: Sharma sentenced to death, Keshav gets 7-year RI
Dec 2003: Sharma moves the Delhi HC challenging trial court judgment
Aug 2006: The Delhi High Court fixes hearing on day-to-day basis in the case
Feb 19, 2007: HC upholds death sentence of Sharma
Oct 8, 2013: SC commutes death penalty to life term
Dec 21, 2018: HC orders Sharma’s “forthwith” release
