Shabnam Ali Hanging: Plea Filed With NHRC To Save Her Is Rejected

Shabnam Ali hanging: A plea filed with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to save a female convict from capital punishment has been rejected, reports said Saturday. Shabnam Ali, accused of murdering her family in 2008 with the help of her lover Saleem, is set to be the first woman to be hanged to death in independent India.

The appeal to save her was put forward by one Danish Khan, a social worker who was earlier rallying for Ali's hanging, as per CNN News18. He reportedly changed his stance after Ali's 12-year-old son, Taj, urged the President of India to pardon his mother from capital punishment. "I love my mother. I have only one demand for President uncle, that he doesn't let my mother be hanged," the young boy said in February 2021.

Lower courts and the Supreme Court, where Ali's appeals have been heard, have all upheld her punishment. She is currently held at a jail in Bareilly and is due to be hanged in Mathura jail, the only one in India with provisions for hanging women. An Amroha court is yet to decide a date for it.

A Look At Shabnam Ali Hanging And The Case Behind It

In April 2008, Shabnam Ali and Saleem brutally axed to death seven family members, including her parents, sister-in-law, brothers, and a 10-month-old nephew. As per reports, Ali's family was against their relationship since Saleem wasn't as educated as her. The murders occurred in Bawankhedi, Amroha in UP.

The two were arrested within a week. In December the same year, Ali gave birth to their son, Taj. After he turned six, Taj was sent to foster care, as per prison regulations, and is living with a journalist Usman Saifi, a friend of Ali's.

A court in Amroha sentenced Ali and Saleem to death in 2010. Her mercy petition was rejected by former President Pranab Mukherjee in 2016 and more recently in 2020, the Supreme Court upheld her sentence. Ali's lawyer says her legal options aren't yet exhausted, including "the right to challenge the rejection of her mercy petition before the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court on various grounds."