Madhumita murder: SC refuses to put hold on release of Amarmani Tripathi, his wife

New Delhi [India], August 25 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Friday refused to put on hold the “premature” release of former Uttar Pradesh minister Amarmani Tripathi and his wife Madhumani, who are serving a life term in poet Madhumita Shukla's murder case.
A bench of Justices Aniuddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi issued notices to the state government, Tripathi (66) and his wife (61) and sought their responses within eight weeks on a plea filed by the poet's sister Nidhi Shukla.
The Uttar Pradesh prisons department had on Thursday issued an order on the “premature” release of the Tripathi couple, who have been serving life sentences for their involvement in the murder of Shukla at her Lucknow residence on May 9, 2003.
The order was issued citing Uttar Pradesh's 2018 policy on remission since they have completed 16 years of imprisonment and their age and good behaviour.
Tripathi couple are currently admitted to the BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur.
Poet Madhumita Shukla, who was pregnant, was killed and Amarmani, then a minister in the Mayawati-led government, was arrested immediately after the crime. His wife was arrested later as the main accused for plotting the murder.
The case was first handed over to the CBCID and then to the CBI. Later, on the plea of the Shukla family, the case was transferred to Uttarakhand.
Both the CBI court in Dehradun and then Uttarakhand High Court pronounced them guilty of the crime and awarded life terms in 2007. (ANI)