The mother of TV journalist Soumya Viswanathan has taken her case to the Supreme Court opposing the bail granted to four men serving life imprisonment for her daughter’s murder in 2008.

Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Singh MaliK and Ajay Kumar had their sentences suspended by the Delhi high court on February 12, allowing them bail pending the outcome of their appeals that challenged their conviction and sentence.

A bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal is expected to hear the plea filed by Soumya’s mother, Madhavi Viswanathan, on April 22.

Soumya Viswanathan, employed with a prominent English news channel, was fatally shot on September 30, 2008, while driving home from work in south Delhi.

In a special court ruling on November 26, 2023, Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik, and Ajay Kumar were each given two life terms under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3(1)(i) (committing organised crime resulting in death) of the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA), with the sentences to run consecutively. The fifth convict, Ajay Sethi, received three years of simple imprisonment under Section 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the IPC.

Granting relief to the convicts, the high court acknowledged their 14 years in custody. It had also directed the Delhi Police to respond to the appeals filed by the four convicts.

Soumya’s mother, Madhavi Vishwanathan, said that the bails were a mockery of justice. “The high court itself had denied bail to Ravi Kapoor earlier, stating that he had committed about 41 punishable offences during his imprisonment. Not even a month later, they give him bail... The matter will be heard on Monday. Saket court had sentenced Ravi Kapoor and the others to double life imprisonment. Now they are out on bail till the petition they filed against Saket court is heard. I am just against the bail,” she said.

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