The Kerala High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the state government on an appeal filed by a 24-year-old woman who was sentenced to death in January for poisoning and murdering her partner, Bar and Bench reported.

On January 20, a Thiruvananthapuram court sentenced Greeshma to death for the murder of Sharon Raj. Her maternal uncle, Nirmalakumaran Nair, was also found guilty under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to the destruction of evidence and providing false information to protect an offender. Nair was sentenced to three years in jail.

A bench of Justices PB Suresh Kumar and Jobin Sebastian on Thursday was hearing an appeal filed by Greeshma against her conviction and death sentence.

The bench sought a response from the state government and also directed it to respond to an application filed by her to suspend her death penalty, Bar and Bench reported. Additionally, the bench suspended the three-year sentence given to Nair.

During the proceedings in the Thiruvananthapuram court, the prosecution contended that Greeshma’s family, in March 2022, arranged for her to marry a military officer despite her relationship with Raj. Greeshma allegedly plotted the murder because Raj had refused to end the relationship after her engagement.

According to the police, Greeshma told them that she had wanted to end her relationship with Raj and had asked him to delete intimate photos and videos. She expressed fear that Raj would share them with her fiancee.

Greeshma allegedly attempted to poison Raj by mixing painkillers in his water and juice.

After several failed attempts, she invited Raj to her home in Ramavarmanchirai, Kanniyakumari, on October 14, 2022, and served him an Ayurvedic drink laced with paraquat, a potent herbicide.

After leaving her home, Raj fell ill and vomited several times. He was hospitalised and died of multiple organ failure on October 25, 2022.

Before he died, Raj suspected that Greeshma had poisoned him and told a friend that she had cheated on him. His family later filed a police complaint.

Greeshma was arrested on October 31, 2022, and granted bail in September 2023. Her mother, Sindhu, and uncle were also arrested on charges of abetting the crime and destroying evidence. However, Sindhu was acquitted as the prosecution failed to prove charges against her.

The case was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to kidnapping or abduction with the intent to murder (364), causing hurt by poison (28), murder (302), causing disappearance of evidence and giving false evidence to screen offender (201), giving false information (203) and criminal act done in furtherance of common intention (34).

Also read: RG Kar and Greeshma: Two murder cases show that capital punishment is a judicial lottery in India