NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to all the four convicts and sought their detailed respective replies, along with Delhi govt's submissions, on hearing an appeal filed by Madhvi Viswanathan. Madhvi, the mother of 25-year-old slain TV journalist Soumya Viswanathan, opposed the bail granted and suspension of sentences, to four men serving life imprisonment for her daughter's murder in 2008.
"Replies from the four convicts & the Delhi govt in four weeks have to be filed in the case," a two-judge bench of the top court, led by Justice Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal, said.
Challenging the Delhi High Court's order of granting bail and suspension of sentences to all four convicts serving two life imprisonments for 2008 TV journalist, Soumya's murder case, her mother, Madhvi moved the Supreme Court seeking reversal of this order on Saturday.
Soumya's mother, Madhavi, has filed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the top court.
The Delhi High Court had on February 12, in its order suspended the sentences of Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Singh Malik, and Ajay Kumar, and also granted them bail pending the outcome of their appeals challenging their conviction and sentence before it.
It was challenged today by Madhvi before the top court on Saturday.
The Delhi HC passed the order of their suspension of the sentences and granting bail to all the four convicts, after considering the fact that all the four convicts had already served 14 years and 9 months of imprisonment.
According to the prosecution, TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan, working in a English news channel, was fatally shot in the early hours of September 30, 2008, on Nelson Mandela Marg in south Delhi while she was returning home from work in her car. In this case, all four convicts were apprehended and were also convicted to two life imprisonments by the trial court on November last year.
The trial court had convicted them all under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 302 (Murder), and MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of liquor Orhanised Crime Act).
The four convicts challenged this trial court's order before the Delhi High Court, who was hearing their appeal against their conviction and sentences. In between, the HC granted them bail and suspended their sentences, till their appeal was being heard by it completely.
