Kanpur: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the conviction of Piyush Shyamdasani, Renu alias Akhilesh Kannaujia and Sonu Kashyap in the Jyoti murder case. It also confirmed the acquittal of Manisha Makhija.Piyush Shyamdasani, Renu alias Akhilesh Kannaujia and Sonu Kashyap had filed appeals challenging their conviction, which had already been upheld by the Allahabad HC. The fourth appeal was filed by the state against the acquittal of Manisha Makhija, who had also been prosecuted in the murder case and was presented as a conspirator.A division bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma observed that the appellants shall serve their sentences in accordance with law. The court directed them to surrender before the concerned jail superintendent within one week if they are not already in custody.The case had shocked the city and received widespread publicity. Piyush Shyamdasani, son of a biscuit baron, married Jyoti Shyamdasani alias Pooja Nagdev, a resident of Jabalpur, on Nov 28, 2012. According to the prosecution, Piyush was having an affair with his neighbour, Manisha Makhija. To get rid of his wife, he allegedly hatched a murder conspiracy involving Renu alias Akhilesh Kannaujia, Sonu Kashyap and Awadhesh Chaturvedi.According to the prosecution, Piyush was the mastermind behind the murder. On July 27, 2014, he allegedly executed the plan. He first took his wife Jyoti to Hotel Verandah for dinner. While the couple was returning home in their car, Piyush lodged an FIR claiming that some unknown persons intercepted the vehicle, forcibly pulled him out and drove away with Jyoti.However, the investigation revealed that the remaining accused met Piyush at a pre-decided spot. He allegedly stopped the car and handed it over to them. The accused then took Jyoti to a secluded place and murdered her. The police later arrested the accused and exposed the alleged murder conspiracy.The prosecution proved its case before the trial court, which convicted all the accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment along with a fine.All the convicted accused challenged the trial court’s judgment before the Allahabad High Court. The high court upheld the conviction of all the accused except Manisha Makhija. The court observed that the evidence of prolonged telephonic conversations between Piyush and Manisha neither conclusively established their alleged affair nor, more importantly, proved her participation in the conspiracy to murder the deceased. It also noted that she was exploring the prospect of marriage with another person and, therefore, acquitted her of the murder charges.After examining each aspect of the case, the Supreme Court upheld the findings of the Allahabad HC. The bench observed: “We are of the view that there is no infirmity in the findings of the HC. The chain of evidence is complete and it singularly points towards the guilt of the appellants. Accordingly, the conviction of the accused appellants is upheld.”
