A High Court division bench on Thursday admitted the appeal filed by Greeshma SS, who was sentenced to death for the murder of her boyfriend Sharon Raj. The court suspended the three-year prison sentence pronounced by the Neyyatinkara Additional Sessions Court to Greeshma's uncle Nirmalakumaran Nair, who is the third accused in the case.
The HC bench of Justice PB Suresh Kumar and Justice Jobin Sebastian also called for records from the subordinate court.

On January 20, the Neyyattinkara court sentenced Greeshma to death for the murder of Sharon by poisoning him with a pesticide-laced ayurvedic decoction. Nirmalakumaran Nair was sentenced to three years in prison. Greeshma's mother Sindhu, the second accused, was acquitted for want of evidence.

While pronouncing the death penalty for Greeshma, the sessions court observed that social background and family circumstances, age, absence of criminal antecedents and good conduct could not be taken as mitigating circumstances to take the case out of the category of "rarest of rare cases". Greeshma's counsel had referred to the young age, socio-economical status, good antecedents of the convict, absence of eyewitness and circumstantial evidence while pleading to mitigate her punishment.

Noting that the murder was extremely brutal and diabolical one, Additional Sessions judge AM Basheer said in the verdict, "I am of the view that this Court will be failing in the duty if the maximum punishment prescribed under the law is not imposed on the accused. In the circumstances, death sentence alone would be proper and legal. Taking into consideration of all the facts and materials, it is crystal clear that the entire act of convict amounts to a barbaric and inhuman behaviour of the highest order".