The Delhi High Court on Monday suspended the life sentence of four men convicted for the murder of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan in the year 2008.A Division Bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Girish Kathpalia granted bail to convicts Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Ajay Kumar and Baljeet Malik noting that they have been behind bars for nearly 14 years.Their life sentence will remain in suspension till the High Court deals with their appeal against conviction and sentencing in the case.Delhi’s Saket Court had on November 24, 2023 sentenced the four accused to life imprisonment for the murder of Soumya Vishwanathan. They were convicted on October 18.Another accused Ajay Sethi was sentenced to three years imprisonment.Vishwanathan was a journalist working with India Today. She was found dead in her car in Vasant Kunj in September 2008.Forensic reports indicated she died due to a bullet wound in her head. According to the police, Vishwanathan was returning home late at night from her office when she was chased and shot.
The breakthrough in the case came in March 2009, when the police arrested Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla for their involvement in another case.
In the disclosure statements, they confessed to the murder.
The trial court found Kapoor, Shukla, Kumar and Malik guilty of Vishwanathan’s murder. They were convicted under Sections 302 (murder) and 34 (offence committed with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
All four of them were also held guilty under Section 3(1) (i)of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
Meanwhile, Sethi was convicted for offences under Section 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the IPC and Section 3(2) and 3(5) of MCOCA.
TAGS: Delhi High Court Suspension Life Sentence Convicts Soumya Vishwanathan Journalist Murder Case
