The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the life sentences of four individuals convicted in the 2003 murder of software engineer B.V. Girish, while granting them the liberty to seek clemency from the Governor of Karnataka.
A bench of Justices M.M. Sundaresh and Aravind Kumar confirmed the Karnataka High Court’s verdict that found Shubha, Arun Verma, Venkatesh, and Dinesh guilty of conspiring to kill Girish, just days after his engagement to Shubha.
Though the court found the evidence against the four sufficient to uphold the conviction under Sections 302 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, it acknowledged the convicts’ young age at the time of the crime and their good conduct in prison.
“They were not born as criminals, but it was an error of judgment through a dangerous adventure which led to the commission of a heinous crime,” the bench noted. Two of the convicts were teenagers at the time of the murder, and the others had barely crossed that threshold.
‘Voice of a Young Girl Was Muffled’
The court also reflected on the social dynamics that contributed to the crime, pointing to Shubha’s strained relationship with her family and their lack of understanding regarding her “mental predilection and disposition.” The bench said the situation reflected how the voice of a “young ambitious girl” was suppressed by a forced family decision, which “created the fiercest of turmoil in her mind.”
“This, backed by an unholy alliance of a mental rebellion and wild romanticism, led to the tragic murder of an innocent young man, while simultaneously destroying the lives of three others,” the bench observed.
Background of the Case
Girish, a young software engineer, was engaged to Shubha on November 30, 2003. According to police, Shubha was in a relationship with Arun Verma and conspired with him and two others to eliminate Girish, allegedly under pressure from her father who had arranged the engagement.
On December 3, 2003, Shubha invited Girish for dinner and persuaded him to stop near the airport to watch airplanes. It was there that the murder was carried out with the help of the co-accused.
All four were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court, and their conviction was upheld by the Karnataka High Court.
Relief with a Caveat
While refusing to reduce the sentence, the Supreme Court allowed the convicts to submit mercy petitions to the Karnataka Governor within eight weeks. “We would only request the constitutional authority to consider the same, which we hope and trust would be done by taking note of the relevant circumstances governing the case,” the bench said.
