BENGALURU: The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday rejected the clemency pleas of Shubha Shankaranarayana and D Arun Verma, who were sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2003 murder of B V Girish, Shubha’s fiance.
The state government will recommend to the governor that their mercy petitions be rejected, Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge told reporters in Bengaluru after the Cabinet meeting.
Girish, 27, a software professional, was murdered on December 3, 2003, at a aircraft viewing point on Intermediate Ring Road in Bengaluru. Shubha and Arun, along with their associates Venkatesh and Dinesh, were accused of conspiring to kill Girish, whose marriage to Shubha had been arranged, so that she could marry Arun, with whom she was reportedly in a relationship.
Girish had taken Shubha out for dinner that night and later drove her to a vantage point to watch aircraft movements near HAL airport. While they were there, Girish was attacked with a motorcycle shock absorber and suffered serious head injuries. He died at a private hospital the following day.
The investigation by the then Viveknagar police led to the arrest of the four accused. In 2010, the trial court convicted them and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The HC upheld the convictions, and the Supreme Court affirmed the life sentences in July 2025.
Following the apex court verdict, Shubha and Arun approached the Governor seeking clemency.
