Swamy Shraddananda has spent 30 years in prison for murdering his wife and has approached the Supreme Court regarding his pending mercy plea filed in December 2023. Convicted in 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment, he cites health issues and seeks relief under constitutional provisions, comparing his case to others granted parole. The court will hear his plea next week.
New Delhi: Swamy Shraddananda, who has spent 30 years in prison for murdering his wife, has approached the Supreme Court seeking a decision on his mercy plea, filed before the President in December 2023. The petition came up for hearing before a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih on Friday. The court directed advocate Varun Thakur, representing the 84-year-old petitioner, to provide a copy of the plea to the Centre’s counsel. The bench scheduled the plea for hearing next week.
Swamy Shraddananda, also known as Murali Manohar Mishra, was convicted of murdering his wife, Shakereh, in 1991. Shakereh was the granddaughter of Sir Mirza Ismail, a former Dewan of the princely state of Mysore. The couple had married in April 1986, but Shakereh mysteriously disappeared in May 1991.
In 1994, during the investigation by Bengaluru’s central crime branch, Shraddananda confessed to the crime. A trial court convicted him in 2005 and sentenced him to death, a decision upheld by the Karnataka High Court. However, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court in 2008 commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment without parole, stating,
“He shall not be released from prison till the rest of his life.”
In his recent plea, Shraddananda cited the case of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination convicts, who were granted parole and eventually released after 27 years of incarceration. He argued that despite being in jail for 30 years without a single day of parole or remission, his mercy plea remains pending.
The petition also pointed out that Shraddananda is suffering from multiple ailments and is seeking relief under Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution, which empower the President and Governors to pardon or commute sentences.
The Supreme Court refused to entertain his review plea in October 2023 but noted that powers under Article 72 and 161 remain applicable. Shraddananda now seeks an urgent decision on his mercy plea.
The apex court will hear the matter next week, and the outcome could set a significant precedent for long-term prisoners seeking clemency.
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