Former UP minister Amarmani Tripathi and his wife Madhumani, serving life terms in the Madhumita Shukla murder case, are set to be released from the prison, Gorakhpur jail superintendent, Dilip Pandey said on Friday.

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay Tripathis' release from the jail.

The prisons department had on Thursday issued an order for the premature release of Amarmani Tripathi, citing the state's 2018 policy on remission, since they have completed 16 years of imprisonment.

The department also cited their old age and good behaviour as Amarmani is 66 and Madhumani is 61, the official said citing the order.

Amarmani Tripathi and his wife are currently admitted in the BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur for health reasons.

Gorakhpur district jailer AK Kushwaha said that if the formalities get completed, they may be released on Friday.

A bench of Justices Aniuddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi refused to stay Tripathis' release.

The bench also issued notices to the state government, Tripathi, and his wife seeking their replies within eight weeks on a plea filed by the poet's sister Nidhi Shukla.

Madhumita Shukla's sister, Nidhi Shukla, who had been in the forefront in this legal fight, had earlier said she has approached the Supreme Court against the decision and also fears for the life of her and her family members.

Poet Madhumita, who was pregnant, was shot dead on May 9, 2003, in Paper Mill Colony, Lucknow. Amarmani Tripathi was arrested in September 2003 in connection with the murder of the poet with whom he was allegedly in a relationship.

A Dehradun court had sentenced Amarmani Tripathi and his wife Madhumani Tripathi to life imprisonment for Madhumita's murder in October 2007, later the Nainital high court and the Supreme Court upheld the sentence of the couple. The case was probed by the CBI.

"I have been telling everyone that this is going to happen. I have procured the documents through an RTI which clearly state that 62 per cent of the jail term that the two are said to have served had been spent out of jail.

"I submitted documents to all responsible persons telling them that between 2012 and 2023 he was not in jail. The government documents, which I have got through the state information commission, after a long fight, bear this out," Nidhi Shukla had earlier in the day told PTI.

She alleged that Tripathis have misled the authorities to get a premature release.

Shukla also said she fears for her and her family's life in case the two are released.

Amarmani Tripathi, who was elected from Nautanva constituency, had been a minister in the BJP state government in 2001.

He was with the Samajwadi Party during the Mulayam government and then switched to the Bahujan Samaj Party.

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