New Delhi: Observing that reformation should be the focus of the State and not retribution, the Supreme Court on Friday allowed a plea seeking premature release of one of the convicts in the 2003 murder case of 26-year-old poet Madhumita Shukla. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan set aside the order of the Ministry of Home Affairs dated July 9, 2025, rejecting the Uttarakhand government's recommendation for premature release of convict Rohit Chaturvedi.
The top court noted that Chaturvedi has spent 22 years in jail without remission. "Crime is one thing, reformation is different. The focus of the State should be reformation, not retribution," the bench observed. The apex court noted that Chaturvedi is already out on bail and need not surrender.
