1998 Murder Case of Ex-Bihar Minister: SC Rejects Plea of Former MLA for Time to Surrender

The Supreme Court dismissed Vijay Kumar Shukla's plea for additional time to surrender in the 1998 murder case of former Bihar Minister Brij Bihari Prasad.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea of convicted criminal-turned-politician Vijay Kumar Shukla alias Munna Shukla seeking time to surrender in the 1998 murder case of former Bihar minister and RJD leader Brij Bihari Prasad.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Sanjay Kumar and R Mahadevan was told by senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Shukla that he needs 30 days' time on account of his wife's health issues and to manage the affairs. Dismissing Shukla's plea, the bench said that its October 3 order granted him a sufficient time of 15 days and therefore no further indulgence can be granted.

On October 3, the top court convicted Shukla, a former MLA, and accused Mantu Tiwari in the murder case. The top court had partially set aside a Patna High Court order acquitting all accused in the case and asked Shukla and Tiwari to surrender within two weeks.

Tiwari is the nephew of the late Bhupendra Nath Dubey, who was the brother of Devendra Nath Dubey, a political rival of Prasad's widow Rama Devi. The top court, however, gave the benefit of the doubt to five other accused, including former MP Surajbhan Singh, and upheld their acquittal.