INDIA. SUPREME COURT STAYS DEATH SENTENCE OF SWAMI SHRADHANANDA

India’s Supreme Court stayed the death sentence of Swami Shradhananda, convicted of murdering his wife Begum Shakereh Namazi, a member of the royal family of Mysore.
The court stayed the Karnataka High Court's judgement confirming the death sentence awarded by a trial court.
The apex court also sought the Karnataka government's response to Shradhananda's special leave petition questioning the high court judgement of Sep 19, 2005.
The prosecution had charged Shardhananda with murdering Shakereh, the granddaughter of Sir Mirza Ismail, with a view to grabbing her property.
Shakereh had married Shardhananda alias Murli Manohar Mishra in 1986 after divorcing Akbar Khaleeli, a former diplomat.
It was alleged that Shradhananda had drugged Shakereh, killed her and then buried her body in the compound of her bungalow at Bangalore on April 28, 1991.
Shardhananda's petition against the high court judgement said that the case was based on circumstantial evidence and stated as unreliable a DNA report conducted on the exhumed body.