The Karnataka Cabinet rejected Shubha Shankar's clemency plea and approved a Supreme Court quota appeal. The twin decisions invoke legal limits on mercy and enhanced Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe reservations.
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Bengaluru,Oct 15, 2026 18:08 IST
The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday rejected the clemency plea of Shubha Shankar, who is serving life imprisonment for killing her fianc three days after their engagement in 2003, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
In a separate decision, the Cabinet decided to approach the Supreme Court against a Karnataka High Court order that struck down enhanced reservation quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Shubha, then a law student, was convicted in the Ring Road murder case along with her lover, Arun Varma, and his accomplices. They killed 27-year-old Girish, an employee of a multinational company, on December 3, 2003.
Kharge said the clemency plea was rejected after the government sought the Law Department's opinion. "It has been rejected because there is no scope in the law for it. We had taken an opinion from the Law Department. Based on their suggestion, we have rejected the proposal," Kharge told reporters, according to PTI.
Arun was a year junior to Shubha in law college, and the two were in a relationship. Shubha's family and Girish's family knew each other but were unaware of her relationship with Arun.
Shubha took Girish out for dinner on December 3, 2003, and later asked him to take her near HAL Airport to watch aircraft taking off and landing. While they were there, Arun and his accomplices attacked Girish with a motorcycle shock absorber. He suffered severe head injuries and died in hospital the following morning.
Police initially struggled to establish a motive as Girish had no known enemies. Investigators examined footage from the engagement ceremony and later found through call records that Shubha had contacted Arun the day before the murder. The investigation then focused on her role in the crime.
On the reservation issue, Kharge said the Cabinet had decided to move the Supreme Court against the High Court's order, PTI reported.
On October 12, the Karnataka High Court struck down provisions of a 2022 state law that had increased reservation for Scheduled Castes from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and for Scheduled Tribes from 3 per cent to 7 per cent. The court held that the enhanced quotas breached the 50 per cent ceiling.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K S Hemalekha held that Section 3 of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act, 2022, violated Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution by taking the total quota above 50 per cent.
The Cabinet, therefore, rejected Shubha's clemency plea based on the Law Department's opinion and decided to challenge the High Court's ruling on enhanced reservation quotas in the Supreme Court.
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