Baikuntha Shukla was born on 15 May 1907 in the small village of Jalalpur, which lay within the Muzaffarpur district of the then Bengal Presidency. This region is now located in the modern-day Vaishali district of Bihar, India. Coincidentally, Shukla shared his birthday with another iconic revolutionary, Sukhdev Thapar. He belonged to a nationalist family; he was the nephew of Yogendra Shukla, a founding member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), a revolutionary organization aimed at ending British rule in India through armed struggle.

In his early years, Baikuntha received elementary education in his native village. He went on to become a teacher at a lower primary school in the nearby village of Mathurapur. Despite his modest profession, his ideological leanings drew him to the cause of Indian independence. In 1930, during the height of Mahatma Gandhi's Civil Disobedience Movement, Shukla joined the ranks of satyagrahis who defied British laws and called for nonviolent resistance.

He was arrested for his participation and imprisoned at Patna Camp Jail. However, he was later released in 1931 after the signing of the Gandhi–Irwin Pact, which granted amnesty to many political prisoners. This release would mark a turning point in his life. Shukla became increasingly disillusioned with the nonviolent approach to independence, especially after the betrayal that led to the execution of some of India’s most iconic revolutionaries.

It was around this time that Baikuntha came into contact with the HSRA through his uncle and other revolutionary circles. He grew committed to the cause of militant nationalism. To him, British rule could not be challenged by peaceful means alone. Inspired by the ideology and sacrifice of men like Bhagat Singh and Rajguru, Baikuntha Shukla pledged himself to direct action.

The political landscape of early 1930s India was charged with emotion, especially after the execution of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev in 1931. These young revolutionaries had become martyrs, symbols of defiance against colonial oppression. Their execution, however, had been made possible by testimony provided by a former associate of the HSRA, Phanindra Nath Ghosh. Once a trusted member of the movement, Ghosh had turned government approver, betraying his comrades to save his own life.

For the HSRA, this was an unforgivable betrayal. Baikuntha Shukla, now a dedicated revolutionary, was chosen to exact justice for what was seen as an ideological and moral crime. In their view, Ghosh had not just betrayed individuals; he had betrayed the movement, the cause, and the dream of an independent India.

On 9 November 1932, Baikuntha Shukla tracked down Phanindra Nath Ghosh and executed him. The exact method is not definitively recorded in available historical sources, but given the revolutionary methods of the time, it is presumed to have been a targeted assassination, likely by gunshot or stabbing, a common form of retributive action in that era.

Shukla was arrested soon after the killing. He did not resist arrest, nor did he express regret. His trial followed, likely in 1933, where he was convicted for the murder of Ghosh. The British colonial authorities saw him not as a hero but as a criminal, a political assassin disrupting the fragile peace of empire.

He was sentenced to death and held at Gaya Central Jail. On 14 May 1934, just one day before his 27th birthday, Baikuntha Shukla was executed by hanging.