Poonia murders

rdf:langString Poonia murders

rdf:langString Poonia murders

rdf:langString The Poonia murders or Relu Ram Poonia murder case concerns the mass murder case of Indian politician Relu Ram Poonia and seven of his family members. The murders were committed by Ram's daughter Sonia, along with her husband Sanjeev Kumar, on the night of 23 August 2001, over a property dispute. The case was filed and Sonia, Sanjeev and various members of his family were tried. The couple was convicted of the murder charges and sentenced to death by the district court. The sentence was reduced to life imprisonment by the Punjab and Haryana High Court but the death sentence was reinstated by the Supreme Court of India. The couple remained in jail during the process when, under the section 72 (1) of the Constitution of India, a mercy petition was raised. The petition went unanswered by then President Pratibha Patil but was rejected by her successor Pranab Mukherjee. However, the couple's death sentence was reverted to life imprisonment after a petition was filed by the civil rights group People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) citing delays in the disposal of the mercy plea as grounds for clemency, which the Supreme Court accepted in January 2014.