Naina Sahni was the victim of the 1995 tandoor murder case. On 2 July 1995, 29-year-old Sahni was killed by her husband Sushil Sharma, an Indian National Congress youth leader. Sushil Sharma was convicted for the murder by the Trial Court, Delhi High Court and

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. In October 2013, Sharma's

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

was commuted to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court.

Tandoor murder case

Sushil Sharma objected to his wife Naina Sahni's friendship with Matloob Karim. Matloob and Naina were classmates and fellow Congress workers. Sushil suspected Naina of having an extramarital relationship with Matloob. On the night of 2 July 1995, Sushil came home and saw Naina talking on the phone and consuming

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

. Naina, on seeing Sushil, hung up. Sushil redialed the phone to find Matloob on the other end. Enraged, he fatally shot Naina. He took the body to a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

named Bagiya and tried to dispose it off with the restaurant manager, Keshav Kumar. The body was put in a tandoor (clay oven) to burn. Police arrested Keshav Kumar but Sharma managed to flee. He surrendered on 10 July 1995. The case also involved the use of DNA evidence to establish the identity of the victim. The first

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

was conducted at the Lady Hardinge Medical College and the cause of death was opined to be burn injuries. The second autopsy was ordered by Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, which was conducted by a team of three doctors from three different hospitals headed by T. D. Dogra. They detected two bullets in head and neck region, opined cause of death due to firearm injuries. With that, the course of investigation changed and the actual story came to light. This case is a landmark citation for fruitful second

Delhi Police The Delhi Police (DP) is the law enforcement agency for the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). Delhi Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India. In 2015, sanctioned strength of Delhi ...

investigated the case and filed a

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on 27 July 1995 in a Sessions Court. On 7 November 2003, Sushil Sharma was sentenced to death and restaurant manager, Keshav Kumar, was given seven years rigorous imprisonment. Sharma appealed against District Court Judgement in Delhi High Court trial court judgement. The Delhi High Court upheld the lower courts' decision. In 2003, a city court awarded him death sentence which was later upheld by the Delhi High Court in 2007. In 2013, the SC commuted his death sentence stating that there was "no evidence" of Sharma chopping his wife's body. On 8 October 2013, a three-judge bench of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justices Ranjana Desai and Ranjan Gogoi of the Supreme Court upheld Sharma's conviction. However, the court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment because Sharma doesn't have a criminal antecedent and it is not a crime against society, but it is a crime committed by the accused due to a strained personal relationship with his wife. On 21 December 2018, Delhi High Court ordered immediate release of Sushil Sharma.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20020320090304/http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99jan31/edit.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Sahni, Naina 1960s births 1995 deaths 1995 in India Deaths by firearm in India People murdered in Delhi Year of birth missing Violence against women in India Women in Delhi Murder in Delhi 1995 murders in India