Supreme Court refuses to grant interim bail to Ilyasi

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to grant interim bail to former television personality Suhaib Ilyasi, who is undergoing life sentence for the murder of his first wife in 2000.

Ilyasi was granted bail for a month to take care of his ailing second wife. The bail ended on May 25 and he surrendered. He again moved the Delhi High Court, where his appeal to renew his interim bail is pending.

Hearing adjourned

The High Court simply adjourned the hearing to July 4 without giving him any relief.

A Supreme Court Vacation Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Mohan M. Shantanagoudar denied Ilyasi any relief. Instead, the Bench advised his counsel Anupam Lal Das to make a fresh bid for bail in Delhi High Court.

Mr. Das complained to the apex court Bench that his client was suffering because of a letter written by his first wife’s mother, asking one of the High Court judges, who is hearing the appeal, to recuse from the case.

Though the High Court had in the last hearing on May 14 observed that the contents of the letter prima facie constituted criminal contempt, it did not act.

Mr. Das said the hearing on Ilyasi’s bail plea was deferred because of this letter.

Ilyasi, who had hosted the popular TV show India’s Most Wanted, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife Anju, who was found dead in her marital home in east Delhi on January 11, 2000.

Ilyasi, who was arrested on March 28, 2000, was initially charged with dowry death and destruction of evidence but later he was ordered by the Delhi High Court to be tried for murder.