MEERUT, Oct. 17 -- A court in Meerut on Friday sentenced a woman and her lover to death for killing her husband and placing a live snake beside his body to make the murder look like a snakebite. The court found the crime to fall under the "rarest of rare" category, said Meerut district government counsel Krishna Kumar Chaubey. This is the second instance of a Meerut court awarding the death penalty in a murder case this week. In a similar case, a court on October 14 sentenced Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla to death for murdering her husband, merchant navy officer Saurabh Rajput, and concealing his dismembered body in a blue drum filled with cement. Additional district and sessions judge Jaiveer Singh Nagar awarded the death penalty to Ravita, 24, and Amardeep, 26, for murdering Amit Kashyap alias Mikky, 25, and destroying evidence, 547 days after the incident, the DGC added. Chaubey said the judge began the 131-page judgment by quoting a verse from the Manusmriti on a ruler's duties and the importance of maintaining order. "Fear of punishment keeps society under control. Without punishment, the wicked would prey upon the righteous," the judgment stated. Amit, a resident of Akbarpur Sadat village, was found dead on a cot at his home on April 13, 2025, with a live snake beside his body. His family initially suspected a snakebite. However, the post-mortem examination found that he had died of strangulation, with injuries to his neck and nose, said police. According to investigators, Ravita and Amardeep allegedly developed a relationship eight to nine months before the murder. Amit learnt about it and this led to frequent disputes between the couple. The prosecution said Amardeep then arranged a snake from a snake charmer for Rs.1,000 on the pretext of using it at a religious gathering. On the night of April 12, 2025, the two allegedly strangled Amit while he slept and placed the snake beside his body to mislead investigators. Police also found that the two had spoken on the phone 51 times within 24 hours of the incident. The victim's brother filed an FIR against them on April 16, 2025. The prosecution examined 12 witnesses during the trial, including family members, the snake charmer and the investigating officer, said additional district government counsel (ADGC) Farzana Maqsood. According to ADGC Maqsood, before pronouncing the sentence, the judge heard both convicts through video conferencing. Ravita cited her three young children and requested that their welfare be ensured, while Amardeep said his elderly parents had nobody to look after them. Both broke down after the verdict, said Viresh Raj Sharma, senior superintendent of Chaudhary Charan Singh District Jail in Meerut. The court also directed the Meerut district magistrate to ensure food, education and accommodation for Amit's three minor children, the court officials said. Amit's mother, Munesh Devi, welcomed the verdict. "This has brought peace to our souls, and our child has also received justice. The court has pronounced the right verdict," she said. Meerut district government counsel Krishna Kumar Chaubey said the city, known for its role in India's freedom struggle, was now sending a strong message to criminals through its judiciary. The court had recently awarded death penalty in the blue drum murder case and had now done the same in the snakebite murder case, he said. Chaubey said the court had made it clear that dismembering a body was not the only form of heinous crime. Violating sacred relationships, trust and the seven vows of marriage also constituted grave wrongdoing, he said, adding that failing to award death penalty in such cases could be viewed as leniency towards serious crimes. According to Chaubey, the judge referred to the Manusmriti, Karwa Chauth, Savitri and the Hindu goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati while discussing the respect accorded to women in Indian culture. The court noted the contrast between the expectation that a wife would love and care for her husband and the allegation that Ravita had murdered her own husband, he said. Additional district government counsel (ADGC) Farzana Maqsood said the prosecution had successfully connected the chain of evidence to secure the convictions. She became emotional after the verdict, describing her tears as tears of happiness and thanking the state government and the court for delivering justice to the victim's family. "This case involved the murder of the sacred relationship between husband and wife. The court ensured a speedy trial involving 86 hearings over a period of 13 months," she said. Viresh Raj Sharma, senior superintendent of Chaudhary Charan Singh District Jail in Meerut, said Ravita and Amardeep were crying after the court pronounced the death sentence. Both were being kept in their previous barracks. They would be shifted to the barrack for convicted prisoners once the jail authorities received a copy of the court order, he said....