Press Release on the Death Warrants for Shabnam and Saleem

Issued by
Death Penalty Litigation Clinic, National Law University, Delhi
25 May 2015
The Supreme Court today, through a Vacation Bench comprising Justice AK Sikri and
Justice UU Lalit, stayed the death warrants to execute Shabnam and Saleem in the cases
of Shabnam v State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. and The National Law University, Delhi
through the Death Penalty Litigation Clinic v State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.
The death warrants were issued on 21 May 2015 by the Sessions Court, Amroha, after
the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence of Shabnam, the mother of a 7 year old
son, and Saleem on 15 May 2015.
The current petitions filed in the Supreme Court challenge the validity and
constitutionality of the death warrants issued by the Sessions Court, Amroha on the
grounds that these warrants contravene the fundamental rights of the prisoners and the
guidelines issued by the Allahabad High Court in Peoples Union for Democratic Rights
v. Union of India (Surinder Kolis case) and the Supreme Court in Shatrughan Chauhan
v. Union of India & Ors.
The guidelines in the above cases lay down the procedure to be followed before a death
warrant is issued. According to these guidelines Shabnam and Saleem have a
fundamental right under the Constitution of India to be given sufficient notice before the
death warrant is heard and also have a lawyer represent them in these proceedings.
These basic constitutional safeguards were not followed in this case.
Another egregious violation of the fundamental right to life is that the death warrants do
not mention the exact date when the execution will be carried out. Instead, it requires the
jail authorities to carry out the execution as soon as possible. Shabnam and Saleem
have been put under constant fear of their death due to this.
The stay is an assurance to death row prisoners that their lives are not subject to the
whims of the State. It is a guarantee that the rights of persons under death row will be
protected and reinforcement of the fact that they are entitled to full protection of the
Constitution.
Justice Sikri and Justice Lalit will now hear detailed arguments challenging the
constitutional validity of the death warrants on 27 May 2015. Senior Advocates Anand
Grover and Raju Ramachandran appeared on behalf of the Petitioners Shabnam and the
National Law University (Death Penalty Litigation Clinic) respectively.
The Death Penalty Litigation Clinic at National Law University, Delhi has been
coordinating legal representation for Shabnam and Saleem after the Supreme Courts
judgment confirming their death sentences. The Clinic is currently involved in the legal
representation of over 30 prisoners sentenced to death in India.

For further queries, please contact Ms. Lubhyathi Rangarajan at +919619917150.