Soumya Vishwanathan Murder case: Supreme Court issues notice on plea challenging bail granted to convicts

The Supreme Court issued a notice in a special leave petition assailing the bail of four accused convicted in the 2008 murder case of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan.

The Delhi High Court in February granted bail and suspended sentence of all four convicts until their appeals against conviction were decided. Challenging this order, Vishwanathan’s mother moved the Supreme Court.

The bench comprising Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal heard the matter. The bench was not inclined to issue a notice initially and said that let the appeal be decided. The counsel, appearing for Soumya Vishwanathan, tried persuading the bench that these accused were involved in organised crimes and were awarded double life sentences. He also contended that if bail continues, the accused will be let loose for a long time.

Consecutively, Justice Trivedi said that the top court would permit her to file an application before the High Court for the early hearing. However, the journalist’s counsel beseeched the court to issue notice. He mentioned that the convicts will be let loose for a long time this way and that the matter will never be taken up by the High Court. Subsequently, the bench issued a notice that was returnable after four weeks.

Soumya Viswanathan, a 25-year-old journalist who was working at English news Channel, was shot dead on September 30, 2008. She was returning from work in her car late in the night when the tragic incident took place. The convicts Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik, and Ajay Kumar were awarded double life imprisonments by the Special Court last November, over 15 years after Soumya was killed in 2008. 

Consecutively, the convicts approached the Delhi High Court, challenging their conviction and sentence of life imprisonment. Beside, they had also filed applications moved by the convicts seeking suspension of sentence during the pendency of the appeal. The High Court also allowed these applications, mentioning that convicts have undergone around 14 years of incarceration.

Among the four convicts in question, Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, and Baljeet Malik were also convicted in the 2009 IT professional Jigisha Ghosh murder case. Following, the trio disclosed to police during cross-examination that they had also shot dead television journalist Soumya Vishwanathan when she was driving home after the night shift in her office. The Delhi Police asserted that the motive behind her murder was robbery.