One month after he was declared elected as an MLA from Uttar Pradesh, the Uttarakhand High Court on Monday granted 10-day permission to Amarmani Tripathi, a key accused in the Madhumita Shukla murder case, to take the oath of office.
Granting permission, Justice P C Pant said Tripathi, who was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly from Lakshmipur assembly seat last month, can travel to Lucknow from a jail in Dehra Dun, where he is presently lodged.
Arguing the case, the counsel for Tripathi, Arvind Kumar, urged the court to grant permission to Tripathi since the trial court judge is presently on leave. Citing constitutional provisions, Kumar argued that the newly-elected MLA cannot be denied permission to take oath since Tripathi was permitted to contest elections by the Supreme Court.
Madhumita Shukla murder case is presently being heard in Dehra Dun following an order of the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Nidhi Shukla, sister of slain poetess, has completed her deposition before the trail court even as the CBI is expected to produce more witnesses before the court.