Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla have appealed their death sentence before the Allahabad High Court. They allege the trial court relied on conjecture, procedural lapses and unproven circumstantial evidence.Image used for representational purposes onlyPrayagraj,Oct 24, 2026 22:32 ISTMuskan Rastogi and her partner Sahil Shukla, convicted in the blue drum murder case, have approached the Allahabad High Court to challenge the death sentence awarded to them by a Meerut court, news agency Press Trust of India reported.A division bench of the high court is likely to hear their appeal next week.
The two were convicted on September 30 of murdering Muskan's husband, Saurabh Rajput, a former merchant navy officer, and attempting to conceal his body. They were sentenced to death on October 14.Meerut district jail Senior Superintendent Viresh Raj Sharma told PTI that senior advocate Sushil Shukla filed the appeal on behalf of Sahil and Muskan on Friday.The lawyer said both convicts had agreed to appoint him as their counsel, following which the lower court's verdict was challenged.
In their appeal, Muskan and Sahil described the trial court's verdict as illegal and arbitrary. They urged the high court to acquit them of all charges under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.They contended that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The case was based entirely on circumstantial evidence, but the trial court reached its conclusion through speculation and conjecture while overlooking established legal principles, they claimed. The convicts also cited alleged contradictions in witness statements about the purchase of the weapon, cement and drum.
They argued that neither CCTV footage nor valid purchase receipts were produced to support claims about these transactions.Other grounds raised in the appeal include the alleged absence of independent witnesses' signatures on recovery documents, violations of videography procedures and the lack of mandatory certificates for electronic evidence.Saurabh was murdered in Meerut's Brahmpuri police station area on March 3, 2025. Sahil and Muskan then concealed his body in a blue plastic drum filled with cement and concrete in an attempt to dispose of it.
The case sparked widespread outrage after it came to light.Police arrested Muskan and Sahil after an investigation. District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra sentenced them to death after 126 hearings and a 13-month trial.
The two have now asked the Allahabad High Court to set aside their conviction and sentence.- Ends