This Article is From Sep 13, 2016

Jigisha Murder Case: Death Row Convict Challenges Sentence

Jigisha Murder Case: Death Row Convict Challenges Sentence

On death row for killing Jigisha Ghosh, Amit Shukla has approached the courts against his conviction.

New Delhi: One of the two death row convicts, in the Jigisha Ghosh murder case, has moved the Delhi High Court challenging his conviction.

Amit Shukla was held guilty in the murder of 28-year-old Jigisha Ghosh, an IT executive who was abducted form near her house in Delhi, robbed and murdered in 2009. He has now moved the court saying that his crime did not fall in the rarest of rare category.

During his sentencing on August 22, the court had held that the Ms Ghosh was killed in a "cold-blooded, inhuman and cruel manner".

While seeking a reprieve, Amit Shukla through his counsel, said that the trial court had committed an error by awarding him death penalty on the basis of a biased jail report about his conduct.

"It has been noticed that for a similar offence one of the convicts has been sentenced for life imprisonment," his appeal, which would come up for hearing on September 15, said.

Baljeet Malik, also convicted in the murder of Jigisha Ghosh, was spared the death sentence for his good conduct in jail.

The trial court which decided the death penalty for Amit Shukla meanwhile has sent the case file to the High Court for confirmation of capital punishment. It is mandatory for a trial court to refer death penalty cases to a higher court for confirming the sentence.

The three convicted for the murder of Jigisha Ghosh are also facing trial in the murder of journalist Soumya Viswanathan, who was killed in 2008. Police claim robbery as the motive behind the killings of both Ms Ghosh and Ms Vishwanathan.
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