In a significant development in a long-standing case, the Supreme Court of India has sentenced two individuals, including former MLA Munna Shukla, to life imprisonment for the 1998 murder of former Bihar minister Brij Bihari Prasad. The court’s decision came after it partially overturned the Patna High Court’s verdict that had acquitted all the accused in the case.
The bench, comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Sanjay Kumar, and R Mahadevan, held Mantu Tiwari and ex-MLA Shukla, alias Vijay Kumar Shukla, responsible for the murder and attempted murder of Brij Bihari Prasad. They have been ordered to surrender within 15 days.
However, the Supreme Court granted the benefit of doubt to six other accused, including former MP Suraj Bhan Singh. The court upheld the High Court’s decision to acquit them due to a lack of conclusive evidence. This means that the charges of murder and attempted murder under Sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code were not proven against these individuals.
The Patna High Court had initially acquitted all the accused in 2014, stating that the prosecution evidence was insufficient to convict them. The decision to acquit was based on the judgment that the accused deserved the benefit of doubt. The trial court had previously convicted all the accused in 2009 and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
The Supreme Court’s verdict was challenged by former BJP MP Rama Devi, the wife of Brij Bihari Prasad, and the CBI, who argued that the High Court’s decision to acquit the accused was based on insufficient evidence. This appeal ultimately led to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the acquittal of Munna Shukla and Mantu Tiwari and sentence them to life imprisonment.
This case has been closely followed in India, highlighting the complexities of the justice system and the lengths to which families of victims will go to seek justice. The Supreme Court’s decision to convict Munna Shukla and Mantu Tiwari, after years of legal battles, is a significant development in this case. It underscores the court’s commitment to ensuring that justice is served, even in cases that have spanned several decades.
