1998 murder case of Brij Bihari Prasad
The Supreme Court has rejected former Bihar legislator Munna Shukla’s plea for additional time to surrender in connection with the 1998 murder case of Brij Bihari Prasad.
A bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna dismissed Shukla’s request on Wednesday.
On October 3, the Supreme Court upheld the trial court’s conviction, sentencing Munna Shukla, also known as Vijay Kumar Shukla, and one other accused, Mantu Tiwari, to life imprisonment.
6 others were acquitted due to lack of evidence. Shukla and Tiwari were ordered to surrender within 15 days to the relevant jail authorities, with the court clarifying that failure to do so would result in appropriate legal measures for their arrest.
Originally sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009, the eight accused had their convictions overturned by the Patna High Court in 2014 due to insufficient evidence.
However, the Supreme Court’s recent ruling reinstated the convictions of Shukla and Tiwari, while providing relief to Surajbhan Singh and the others by partially upholding the earlier acquittals.
The court stated, “In so far as Suraj Bhan Singh, Mukesh Singh, Lallan Singh, Ram Niranjan Chaudhary, and Rajan Tiwari are concerned, we give them the benefit of doubt and uphold their acquittal.”
The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s findings, declaring the charges under Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC against Shukla and Tiwari as proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Both Shukla and Tiwari were fined ₹40,000 each. The court noted that there was no direct evidence linking the six acquitted individuals to the conspiracy. “Since the charge of conspiracy is not substantiated,” the bench concluded, reinforcing their decision not to interfere with the High Court’s acquittals.
The appeals filed by Brij Bihari Prasad’s wife, Rama Devi, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the Patna High Court’s 2014 ruling remain under consideration.
On October 3, the Supreme Court confirmed that the charges against Shukla and Tiwari for the murders of Brij Bihari Prasad and Lakshmeshwar Sahu were conclusively established.
As the case continues to unfold, the Supreme Court’s ruling highlights the complexities of the legal proceedings surrounding this high-profile murder case and the challenges in securing justice in such matters.
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