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HC acquits youth in Ayesha murder
In a crucial judgment relating to the sensational case of rape and murder of B Pharma student Ayesha Meera of Hyderabad in 2007, the High Court at Hyderabad quashed the lower court judgment imposing life imprisonment to Satyam Babu, declaring him innocent and ordering his release immediately from the jail. The Court also directed the Andhra Pradesh government to pay legal costs of Rs 1 lakh to Sat
​Hyderabad: In a crucial judgment relating to the sensational case of rape and murder of B Pharma student Ayesha Meera of Hyderabad in 2007, the High Court at Hyderabad quashed the lower court judgment imposing life imprisonment to Satyam Babu, declaring him innocent and ordering his release immediately from the jail. The Court also directed the Andhra Pradesh government to pay legal costs of Rs 1 lakh to Satyam Babu who has spent nearly eight-and-a-half years in jail.
A division bench comprising Justice C V Nagarjuna Reddy and Justice M S K Jaiswal delivered this crucial judgment on Friday. Keeping the recent Supreme Court judgment in mind, the bench ordered the state government to refer to apex committee for taking action on investigating officers who did not adhere to minimum requirements that resulted in an innocent suffering punishment.
Ayesha Meera was studying B Pharmacy in Vijayawada and staying in a hostel on the outskirts of the city, Ibrahimpatnam. She was raped and murdered on December 26, 2007. The police booked Satyam Babu, a Dalit, as the accused nine months after the murder and the Vijayawada Women’s Sessions Court after trial sentenced him to life imprisonment for murder and 10 years’ imprisonment for rape in September 2010. Satyam Babu filed an appeal against this judgment in October 2010 and after elaborate hearings, the final judgment was delivered on Friday.
The judgment made it clear that the angle of rape seems to have been brought in by the police to mislead the lower court, which did not give adequate attention to the lapses in investigation by the police. It also questioned as to why no narco-analysis test was conducted on the person against whom Ayesha Meera’s mother expressed suspicion.
It also faulted the police for giving contradictory and unbelievable versions of the crime. Citing how the police version claimed that 5.5 feet high Satyam Babu scaled an 8-feet high wall with a club in one hand and reached Ayesha’s room, the bench commented that only a ‘Superman’ could have done that.
The bench made it clear that it cannot order monetary compensation to Satyam Babu for the mental agony and loss to him and his family members due to police action. It however stated that it is open for Satyam Babu to decide if he wants to sue the government for such damages.
