Sharon Raj murder: Kerala High Court issues notice to State on Greeshma's appeal against death penalty

The Kerala High Court on Thursday issued notice to the State of Kerala on the appeal filed by Greeshma, the convict sentenced to death for the murder of 23-year-old Thiruvananthapuram resident Sharon Raj. [Greeshma @ Sreekkutty & Anr. v. State of Kerala].Her appeal challenging the conviction and death sentence was heard by a Bench of Justices PB Suresh Kumar and Jobin Sebastian.The Bench sought the response of the State to the plea challenging her conviction and death sentence and also directed the State to respond to the application filed by her to suspend her death penalty.Pertinently, the Court suspended the three-year jail sentence of Greeshma's uncle Nirmala Kumaran Nair who is a co-accused in the case..Greeshma, who was the girlfriend of the deceased Sharon Raj, was convicted of having killed him by administering poison because she wanted to end the relationship.On January 17, Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court Judge AM Basheer convicted and sentenced her to death. Her uncle Nirmala Kumaran Nair was sentenced to three years imprisonment for the role he played in the incident. Greeshma was found guilty under Sections 364 (kidnapping or abducting to murder), 328 (causing hurt by poison), 302 (punishment for murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of IPC. Her uncle was found guilty under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), while her mother was acquitted due to lack of evidence.Both Greeshma and her uncle have now approached the High Court challenging their conviction and sentence. .In his 588-page judgment, Judge Basheer took particular note of the premedidation on Greeshma's part, her first unsuccessful attempt to poison Sharon and her decision to administer a poison that she allegedly knew would cause an excruciating death. All these factors led the judge to conclude that she cannot be reformed by imprisonment. "The convict had ‘devilish thought’ in her mind because only cunning and cruel criminal can repeat the offence. Such a person cannot be reformed. There is no guarantee that she will not mix poison again in any other relationship, if she got mixed with society," the judge said while sentencing Greeshma to death. .Sharon Raj, a final-year BSc Radiology student, met Greeshma, a literature student, during their time at a private college in Kanyakumari. The two reportedly maintained a romantic relationship for over a year before tensions arose.The prosecution alleged that Greeshma, wanting to end the relationship after her family arranged her marriage to another man, conspired with her mother and uncle to kill Sharon.On October 14, 2022, Sharon visited Greeshma at her residence where she allegedly gave him an Ayurvedic tonic laced with poison.According to the prosecution, Greeshma, her mother and uncle concealed the poison bottle to eliminate evidence. Within days, Sharon’s health deteriorated rapidly and on October 25, he succumbed to multiple organ failure..Sharon Raj Murder: How cloud data got girlfriend Greeshma the death penalty .The case sparked widespread outrage, leading to an in-depth investigation by a Crime Branch special investigation team led by DySP Johnson.Greeshma was arrested on October 31, 2022, followed by her mother and uncle.Greeshma remained under custody for nearly a year until the Kerala High Court granted her bail on September 25, 2023. However, her bail was subject to strict conditions and she continued to face trial alongside her co-accused.She was eventually convicted and sentenced to death last month. .Greesma was represented by Senior Advocate Sasthamangalam S Ajithkumar and advocates Sreejith S Nair, Satheesh Mohanan, Mahima, Vipin Raj, Sekhar G Thampi, Akhil Suseendran, Abhishek Nair MR and Nandu Prakash JS.