Prayagraj, Oct 27 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday admitted an appeal filed by the two convicts in the blue drum murder case challenging their death sentence by a Meerut court and fixed November 30 for hearing.
A bench of justices Salil Kumar Rai and Padam Narain Mishra passed the order on the criminal appeal by Muskan Rastogi and her partner Sahil Shukla.
The court said, “The counsel for the appellants may collect the paper book from the office before the next date of listing.”
The Meerut court had convicted the two on September 30 for the murder of Muskan’s husband Saurabh Rajput, a former merchant navy officer, and for attempting to conceal his body. The death penalty was given on October 14.
Saurabh was murdered in the Brahmpuri police station area of Meerut on March 3, 2025. Sahil and Muskan then concealed his body in a blue plastic drum filled with cement and concrete in an attempt to dispose of it. The case had triggered widespread outrage after it came to light.
The criminal appeal seeks quashing of the conviction order dated September 30 and the subsequent death sentence awarded to them on October 14.
In their appeal, the convicts have described the trial court’s verdict as illegal and arbitrary and sought its complete reversal.
They have urged the high court to set aside the conviction and death sentence and acquit them of all charges under the relevant provisions of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The appeal also contends that the prosecution failed to establish its case beyond reasonable doubt.
According to the appellants, the case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence, but the trial court arrived at its conclusion on the basis of speculation and conjecture while overlooking established legal principles.
The accused have also pointed to alleged contradictions in the statements of witnesses regarding the purchase of the weapon, cement and drum.
They have argued that neither CCTV footage nor valid purchase receipts were produced to substantiate these transactions.
Other grounds raised in the appeal include the alleged absence of signatures of independent witnesses on recovery memos, violations of videography procedures and the absence of mandatory certificates required for electronic evidence.
District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra pronounced the verdict of death sentence that came after 126 hearings and a 13-month trial. PTI COR RAJ ZMN
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