MEERUT — The Supreme Court has ordered a fresh investigation into the 2022 death of 20-year-old Ziaul Rahman in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, overturning previous rulings by the Allahabad High Court and a lower court that had reduced the charge from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Ziaul Rahman was allegedly beaten to death on November 1, 2022, by members of his partner’s family. His partner, 19-year-old Tanu Saini, died by suicide roughly 10 hours later. Ziaul’s father, Ayyub Rahman, had challenged the lesser charge and brought the case before the apex court.
Calling it a “clear case of killing,” the Supreme Court pointed directly to the autopsy report, which documented 14 separate injuries on Ziaul’s body. The court concluded that the appropriate charge should be under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (murder), rather than Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), as previously applied by the trial and high courts.
“In this case, on the basis of the facts noted above, we find the charge should be framed under IPC Section 302…,” the court observed in its order, which was released Thursday evening.
The bench also instructed the Uttar Pradesh government to appoint a special public prosecutor, in consultation with the complainant, to oversee the trial. The state has been given six weeks from the date of receiving the order to implement this directive.
Advocate Bhuwan Raj, representing the Rahman family, told The Times of India that local police had mishandled the investigation from the beginning. “We are still uncertain whether the woman was murdered or died by suicide. She was the only eyewitness who could have testified against the accused,” he said.
He further alleged that while Ziaul’s family was occupied with funeral arrangements, police registered a case against them under IPC Section 306 (abetment of suicide) without proper inquiry. “The investigation was careless, and the officer in charge should face accountability,” he added.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had quashed the abetment charge against Ziaul’s family, highlighting serious procedural lapses and ordering a reinvestigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT). The court had noted the presence of “deeper undercurrents” in the case. The SIT report is due by April 15, 2025.
Ayyub Rahman said, “My son was intentionally killed. He and Tanu were promising students. Instead of delivering justice, the local police falsely implicated my family. We now hope that the truth will come out.”
