'India's Most Wanted' host Suhaib Ilyasi approaches Delhi HC, challenges trial court's 'life imprisonment' order

Pic Courtesy: Twitter

NEW DELHI: Former TV anchor and producer Suhaib Ilyasi on Tuesday approached Delhi High Court and challenged the trial court order which sentenced him to life imprisonment for murdering his wife.

On December 20, a city court had sentenced the ex-TV anchor-producer to life imprisonment for the same.

Ilyasi, the former television presenter of once popular criminal hunt show 'India's Most Wanted', was earlier convicted by the Karkardooma court in connection with the death of his wife, Anju Ilyasi, way back in the year 2000.

The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge S K Malhotra. Suhaib was found guilty on the charge of murder under the Indian Penal Code. 

Suhaib Ilyasi had been under scanner over his suspicious role in the murder of his wife for nearly seventeen years.

While deciding two separate pleas of Ilyasi and his mother-in-law, Rukma Singh, Justice Indermeet Kaur said, "The prima facie material collected by the prosecution justifies the framing of additional charge under Section 302 (murder) of IPC. The revision petition is disposed of with a direction to the trial court to frame an additional charge under Section 302 of IPC."

Ilyasi's mother-in-law Rukma Singh had sought inclusion of the additional charge of murder against him for her daughter's death on January 11, 2000. 

Section 302 of Indian Penal Code entails death penalty as the maximum punishment.

Ilyasi was earlier charged under milder sections 304B (dowry death) of IPC and had moved the court against a decision of the police to form a fresh medical panel to ascertain the nature of his wife's death.

He had alleged that the formation of the medical board was illegal as it was being done after filing of a chargesheet and framing of charges for the offence of dowry death.

On January 11, 2000, Anju was rushed from Suhaib's east Delhi house to a hospital with fatal stab wounds.

Ilyasi, who had shot into limelight after hosting a TV crime show 'India's Most Wanted', was arrested on March 28, 2000.

Later, charges were framed against him in the case after his sister-in-law and mother-in-law alleged that he used to torture Anju for dowry.