The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the trial of the Madhumita Shukla murder case in a Lucknow court and issued notices to the Central Bureau of Investigation and former Uttar Pradesh Minister Amarmani Tripathi and his wife, who are main accused in the case, on a plea for shifting the trial outside the state.
A bench comprising Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice Tarun Chatterjee also sought response from the Uttar Pradesh government on a petition filed by slain poetess' sister Nidhi Shukla alleging that the accused could influence the trial of the case in the state because of his high connections.
Elaborating several grounds for holding trial of the case pending in the Lucknow Court to some other state, she said the victim's family believe that they would not get free and fair trial in Uttar Pradesh as in the past also Tripathi had tried to influence the course of investigation of the case and was getting luxurious treatment in jail.
The poetess was shot dead at her Lucknow residence on May 9, 2003. CBI has alleged that Tripathi and his wife Madhumani allegedly conspired to eliminate her as she was carrying Amarmani's child with whom she had developed an intimate relationship.
The apex court on September 26 last year had cancelled the bail granted to Tripathi couple by the Allahabad High Court saying the accused tried to interfere with the course of probe to derail the case. It had said that the High Court had failed to deal with the vast material placed by the CBI which clearly indicated that the accused at all material times tried to interfere with the course of probe, tampered with witnesses and fabricated documents.