Swami Shraddhanand, also known as Murali Manohar Mishra, an 85-year-old self-proclaimed godman who has been imprisoned for nearly 30 years following his conviction for the murder of his wife, Shakereh Khaleeli (the granddaughter of Sir Mirza Ismail, former Dewan of Mysore), has approached the Supreme Court seeking a prompt decision on his mercy petition.
The case was heard on 24/02/25 by a bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and A.G. Masih, which adjourned the proceedings at the request of Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, representing the Union, granting him two weeks to obtain instructions. Advocate Varun Thakur, appearing for Swami Shraddhanand, argued that the self-proclaimed godman has been continuously imprisoned for over 30 years without a single day of parole. He further emphasized that Shraddhanand is suffering from multiple ailments, and the current petition has been filed to expedite the decision on his mercy plea.
When Justice B.R. Gavai remarked that this appeared to be Shraddhanand's seventh or eighth petition before the Court, Advocate Varun Thakur clarified that this was not the case and provided details of the previous petitions. These included: (i) a review petition seeking reconsideration of the judgment imposing a life sentence without remission on Shraddhanand, (ii) a writ petition filed in 2014 seeking parole and a stay on the Amazon Prime docuseries Dancing on the Grave (related to Khaleeli's murder), which was ultimately withdrawn, and (iii) another writ petition seeking parole that was dismissed in September 2024.
During one of the proceedings mentioned earlier, the Supreme Court was informed that Shraddhanand had submitted a representation for pardon to the President of India under Article 72 of the Constitution. While hearing the arguments, Justice B.R. Gavai remarked, "You (Shraddhanand) must thank this Court... that you were saved that time," referencing the case's significance. The judge also noted that Shraddhanand's case was pivotal in establishing the "middle-path law," which allows for a life sentence until death without remission, serving as a middle ground between traditional life imprisonment and the death penalty. The decision of the Court is pending.
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