Meerut — Two prisoners sentenced to death in the widely followed Meerut blue drum murder case have filed appeals in the Allahabad High Court, contesting both their convictions and the capital sentences awarded by the trial court.
Appeal lodged against conviction and sentence
Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla challenged the September trial court verdict and the subsequent death penalty in filings moved before the High Court. According to PTI reports, senior advocate Sushil Shukla filed the appeal on behalf of both convicts on Friday, October 23. The Meerut District Jail senior superintendent, Viresh Raj Sharma, confirmed that the appeal had been lodged.
The pair were convicted by a Meerut district court on September 30, 2026, and were awarded capital punishment by the court on October 14, 2026. In their petitions, the convicts assert that the prosecution did not prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt and have sought reversal of both the conviction and sentence.
Key objections raised in the appeal
The defence has raised multiple challenges to the evidence and investigative process, arguing that the case presented at trial rested largely on circumstantial material and was riddled with contradictions and lacunae. Among the specific contentions listed in the appeal are:
- Absence of CCTV footage or valid purchase receipts to substantiate alleged purchases of the murder weapon, cement and the blue plastic drum used to conceal the victim's remains.
- Reliance on recovery documents that allegedly lack signatures of independent witnesses.
- Deficiencies in the collection, preservation and examination of electronic evidence.
“The judgment was arbitrary and legally unsustainable,” the defence argued in its petition, challenging the trial court’s assessment of the material.
What the appeal asks the High Court to examine
The appeals press the High Court to re-examine whether the circumstantial pattern relied upon by the prosecution met the standard for criminal conviction and whether procedural or evidentiary lapses rendered the trial court’s findings unsafe. The pleadings ask the court to quash both the conviction and the death sentences imposed by the lower court.
Local reaction and procedural status
The case has drawn intense local attention since the discovery of the victim, Saurabh Rajput, and subsequent forensic and investigative developments that led to the arrests and the dramatic epithet "blue drum" in media coverage. The filing of the High Court appeal initiates the next phase of judicial scrutiny, which may include calls for further affidavits, production of original evidence and hearing on points of law and fact.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Conviction by Meerut district court | 30 September 2026 |
| Death sentences awarded | 14 October 2026 |
| Appeal filed in Allahabad High Court | 23 October 2026 |
The High Court will independently examine the legal and evidentiary grounds raised; the arguments included in the appeals are not findings by the court but contentions the petitioners want the bench to consider. Any orders or directions that follow will shape the course of prosecution and defence strategy going forward, and will be closely watched in Meerut where the case has provoked significant public interest.
Proceedings in the High Court can involve multiple interim steps including hearing of preliminary objections, production of original exhibits and possibly engagement of expert evidence on contested material. For residents of Meerut, the appeals stage holds the prospect of further clarification of how the trial court reached its conclusions and whether legal errors, if any, require corrective orders from the higher judiciary.
