The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in the premature release of former Uttar Pradesh minister Amarmani Tripathi and his wife Madhumani, who were convicted in the murder of poet Madhumita Shukla. The couple had been granted premature release under Uttar Pradesh’s 2018 remission policy after serving 16 years in prison.
The plea, filed by Madhumita Shukla’s sister, Nidhi Shukla, was dismissed by a bench comprising Justices Bela M. Trivedi and P.B. Varale, who advised the petitioner to seek redress at the high court level. The bench questioned, “What fundamental right is violated. Sorry,” indicating no substantial grounds were found to challenge the state’s decision.
The Uttar Pradesh prisons department justified the release citing the couple’s age and good behavior during their incarceration, with Amarmani Tripathi being 66 and Madhumani 61 years old.
Madhumita Shukla, who was pregnant at the time, was murdered on May 9, 2003, in Lucknow. The case gained considerable attention due to the involvement of Amarmani Tripathi, who was then a minister and allegedly in a relationship with the poet. Tripathi was arrested in September 2003, and a Dehradun court later sentenced him and his wife to life imprisonment in October 2007. The conviction was subsequently upheld by the Nainital High Court and the Supreme Court, with the investigation led by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
