
2003 Bengaluru 'Ring Road murder' case: Supreme Court upholds life term of Shubha Shankarnarayan, 3 others; gives 8 weeks to file mercy plea
While the top court not only upheld the convictions, it also gave the convicts eight weeks to file mercy petitions before the Karnataka governor. The court ruled that the convicts, currently on bail, should not be arrested until that window expires.
You Can Also Check:
Bengaluru AQI
|
Weather in Bengaluru
|
Bank Holidays in Bengaluru
|
Public Holidays in Bengaluru
On the night of Dec 3, 2003, BV Girish, 27, took his fiancee Shubha, then 20, out for dinner. She was a fifth-semester LLB student while Girish worked for an MNC. The two had got engaged on Nov 30.
The families had known each other for years, but what they didn't know was that Shubha was in love with Arun Varma, 19, her junior in the college.
Empathy for Shubha's confusion could have averted tragedy: SC
After dinner, Shubha wanted to see aircraft take off and land at HAL airport. Girish took her to a viewing point on Inner Ring Road. Both stood facing the runway. As Girish stood watching the planes, assailants attacked him on the head with a two-wheeler's shock absorber.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription
Techno Mag
Learn More
Undo
He succumbed to grievous injuries the next morning at a private hospital.
Then police inspector from Viveknagar station, KA Nanaiah, cracked the case with the help of mobile call detail records (CDRs) which was relatively new in those days. Police arrested Shubha, Arun and his associates, Venkatesh and Dinesh.
In July 2010, a local court found all four guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The court concluded that it was a pre-planned murder as Shubha wanted to marry Arun.
The convicts appealed in Karnataka high court which upheld the trial court's orders of life imprisonment.
In 2012, Shubha moved the Supreme Court challenging the conviction and was granted bail. Later, the others too walked out on bail.
Passing the orders Monday, a two-judge SC bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar observed, "We do not wish to end our judgment by merely rendering a conviction. We do believe that this court has a little more role to play."
The court observed that the unfortunate incident could have been averted had the family shown greater empathy in understanding Shubha's mental confusion. "Despite having attained the age of majority, she was unable to decide for herself. Having said so, we cannot condone her action as it resulted in the loss of a young innocent man. We would only state at this juncture that Shubha committed this offence by adopting the wrong course of action to address her problem," the court said.
"We now choose to examine the matter from a different lens - one that considers the possibility of offering the appellants a chance at rehabilitation," the court noted.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
Russian Boeing-737 turns back to Siberian airport after reporting depressurisation: Report
A Russian passenger plane operated by S7 Airlines flying to the southern Russian resort city of Sochi on Friday turned back to Novosibirsk airport in Siberia to check its cabin pressure systems, the airline and Siberian prosecutors said. The tracking website indicated that the plane, a Boeing-737 with seating capacity for 176 passengers manufactured in 2001, sent an emergency signal. The site tracked the plane turning back and then repeatedly circling and flying in large loops. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Technology Degree Leadership Digital Marketing Data Science Design Thinking Public Policy Healthcare CXO Management Others Data Science healthcare Finance Product Management PGDM Skills you'll gain: Duration: 12 Weeks MIT xPRO CERT-MIT XPRO Building AI Prod India Starts on undefined Get Details "Flight S7 5103, travelling from Novosibirsk to Sochi, is returning to its departure airport to check the cabin pressure control system," the airline told Reuters. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Enlarged Prostate Has Nothing To Do With Age. Just Stop Doing This One Common Thing! Prostate Health Journal Click Here Undo The airline said in a statement that the plane was using up fuel before landing and that a replacement aircraft had been prepared to carry passengers to their destination. The Western Siberian Transport Prosecutor's office said it was monitoring the incident. Live Events The incident comes a day after an An-24 passenger plane crashed in Russia's far east as it was preparing to land, killing all 48 people on board in an incident that spotlighted the continued use of old, Soviet-era aircraft.


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
James Comey blasts US government: Ex-FBI director lashes out in daughter's defence after DOJ dismissal; warns of 'hard weeks in Trump era'
James Comey (File photo) Former FBI Director James Comey has sharply criticized the Trump and his administration after the department of justice abruptly fired his daughter, Maurene Comey, a longtime federal prosecutor known for her work on high-profile cases involving Jeffrey Epstein and Sean 'Diddy' Combs. 'The reservoir is in grave danger,' Comey said in a statement shared by Fox News being circulated on social media, after his daughter's dismissal. 'Right now, Trump and the hacks who lead the Department of Justice are hammering at the dam day after day, trying to turn it into just another gold leaf covered Trump subsidiary.' Calling on career DOJ employees to hold the line, he added, 'Our best hope is that good people will stay. You may get fired for acting that way, but there's honor in that and nothing but disgrace for those who don't stand up. There are going to be hard weeks in the Trump era and this was one for my family. But there are plenty of good people still in the department committed to doing things the right way, committed to the rule of law. For them, because of them, keep the faith.' The Justice Department fired Maurene Comey last week via a memo that gave no explanation. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo 'Yesterday was unexpectedly my last day in the Office,' she wrote in an internal email obtained by the New York Post. 'I was summarily fired via memo from Main Justice that did not give a reason for my termination.' Her dismissal comes as the Justice Department faces scrutiny over its decision to close parts of the Epstein investigation. Comey had led several significant prosecutions, including the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges and, more recently, a high-profile case involving music mogul Diddy Combs. In the past year, Comey had become a target of far-right influencers close to Donald Trump . In May, conservative activist Laura Loomer publicly called for Attorney General Pam Bondi to fire Comey, accusing her of political bias.


New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Madras HC flags lapses in SC/ST Act cases; directs DGP to enforce strict compliance with rules
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has flagged the procedural lapses committed by the investigating officers while dealing with complaints of caste discrimination filed under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and directed the Tamil Nadu DGP to ensure strict compliance with the law. "In several matters relating to complaints made under SC/ST (PoA), procedural lapses are being noticed. The second respondent shall communicate a copy of this order to all SPs who shall ensure strict compliance with the provisions of the SC/ST (PoA) Act and the Rules, particularly Rule 7 relating to the rank of the IO and time-bound filing of the final report,' said Justice P Velmurugan in a recent order. Citing a Supreme Court order, he said when a complaint discloses a cognizable offence under the provisions of the SC/ST (PoA) Act, no preliminary enquiry is permissible either under this Act or the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the enquiry on the complaint shall be held by an officer in the rank of a DSP and not by an Inspector as provided under section 7 (1) of the Act.