Manu gets life term for Jessica murder

New Delhi: When the moment of truth finally arrived for Manu Sharma - guilty of the murder of model Jessica Lall at a swinging late-night party in a south Delhi restaurant seven years ago - not even the much-touted defence could turn fortunes in his favour.

Neither could his being a political prodigee – Manu alias Siddharth Vashisht is the son of Haryana Congressman Venod Sharma – save him from getting a life term in a case that was revived by a consistent public outcry and a strong media debate.

In fact, it was a triple blow for Manu, who was acquitted in February on the same charges by a lower court.

On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court sentenced Manu to life imprisonment for the murder, four years imprisonment for possession of illegal arms under the Arms Act and another four-year jail term for criminal conspiracy.

He was also slapped with a Rs-50,000 fine that would be paid to Jessica’s family.

Manu’s lawyer R K Nasseem said he will challenge the verdict in Supreme Court. In the arguments leading up to the quantum, while the prosecution pushed for death penalty for Manu, the High Court Bench comprising R S Sodhi and P K Bhasin turned it down saying it was not the "rarest of rare cases" and that there was a possibility of "the convict being reformed".

What does life term mean?

According to a Supreme Court judgement, life term must be treated as imprisonment for the remaining period of the convict's natural life. The apex court reiterated that life imprisonment is not equivalent to imprisonment for 14 or 20 years.

The court said the crime was "not intentional" and "premeditated". "We feel that justice will be satisfied under the law if the convict will be sentenced to life imprisonment," the Bench said.

But, it was perhaps Delhi Police counsel Mukta Gupta’s argument that summed it all up.

Countering the defence argument urging leniency, Gupta said, "it was writ large on the face of record that no sign of any remorse had been shown by the convict during the trial".

Partners in crime

Manu’s friends and co-accused Vikas Yadav and Amardeep Singh Gill alias Tony were sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment each for aiding and abetment of the crime and will pay a fine of Rs 2,000 each.

Gill - who was convicted under sections 201 (destruction of evidence) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) - had moved the court on Tuesday seeking bail and stating that all the offences under these sections were bailable under the law.

But while announcing the quantum for the duo, the Bench agreed with prosecution that the two knew the gravity of offence yet they shielded the facts and tried to destroy the evidence.

"We are of the view that Tony Gill cannot be released by giving benefit under Probation of Offender's Act," the Bench said.

What it means for Sabrina Lall

The verdict came as a huge relief for Jessica’s sister Sabrina Lall, who has been thanking the media and the public profusely for having stood by her throughout.

She described Wednesday’s sentencing as a “closure” of the case. "There is a certain amount of closure to the long drawn case. I couldn’t have asked God for more. I don’t believe in death sentence so I’m very happy with the judgment,” she said.

But Sabrina, who has courted much media attention over the long-drawn trial, remained bitter. “Life sentence would be a true and fitting judgement. Death sentence would mean his family will suffer. I want him to suffer and I hope it’s a long life sentence. I want the boy who killed Jessica to spend long years in prison,” she said.

The Delhi Police, which had come under severe scrutiny for allegedly botching up the case, claimed the judgement was a vindication of their stand.

Senior IPS officer Amod Kanth, who was the then Delhi Police joint commissioner and oversaw the murder investigation, congratulated the Police team and said, "The judgement is a strong vindication. We feel totally satisfied. The entire judgment is based on the initial investigations. The officers should be given kudos. Unfortunately, there is some wrong information being given,” he said.

Kanth denied that the court had passed adverse comments against the investigation and Delhi Police.

Turncoats in trouble

It was not just Manu Sharma, Vikas Yadav and Amardeep Singh Gill who faced judgement day in the Jessica Lall murder case on Wednesday.

The Delhi High Court has also directed the Delhi police to take action against all the 29 witnesses who turned hostile, including small-time actor and model Shyan Munshi.

JESSICA CASE TIMELINE

April 29, 1999: A party was in full swing at south Delhi’s Tamarind Court restaurant where hundreds of high-profile guests including a top ranking Delhi Police officer were present when Jessica Lall, the model tending the bar, was shot dead. An FIR was lodged by model-turned-actor Shyan Munshi who was standing next to her. In the following week, four men present in the party were charged with killing Jessica. The main accused were all men who wielded influence.

November 2000: The trial began and five others - including former Test cricketer Yograj Singh - were charged with harbouring the accused. But less than a year, later the entire case of the prosecution weakened as witness after witness turned hostile and this included key witness Shyan Munshi who told the court, "I can’t read Hindi and hence do not know what the police wrote”. Interestingly, Shayan was accompanied to court by Manu Sharma's lawyer. By this time charges of police complicity in favour of the accused were doing the rounds.

February 2006: Manu Sharma got out on bail in 2002, and four years later on February 21, 2006 the trial court acquitted Manu and the eight others for lack of evidence. Public outcry greeted the judgement and Delhi High Court took cognizance of the issue. On February 26 Delhi Police's special investigation team was constituted to probe the conduct of the investigating officers.

March 6, 2006: A second FIR in the case was lodged.

October 3, 2006: Hearing of the appeal against the trial court's order begins.

November 2006: The appeal went through its share of ups and downs before the final verdict was reserved on November 29.


Source: IBN LiVE
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It was in my fate, says Manu Sharma

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New Delhi: "This was in my fate," was the immediate reaction of Manu Sharma, who was sentenced to life for murdering model Jessica Lall by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday.

"Mere bhagya main yehi tha. Taqdeer ka faisla yehi tha (This was in my fate. This was decided by the destiny)," Manu Sharma said to his close friend after the sentence was delivered.

All the three convicts, Manu Sharma, Vikas Yadav and Amardeep Singh Gill alias Tony, remained calm and controlled their emotions during the hour-long arguments.

Immediately after the sentence was pronounced, the three were escorted out of the courtroom of a Bench comprising Justices R S Sodhi and P K Bhasin by police personnel, who had accompanied them from Tihar Jail.

Relatives and friends of the trio surrounded them for the around 15 minutes they were made to sit outside the courtroom while their lawyers busied themselves with formalities.

Manu's father Venod Sharma, a senior Congress leader, kept away from the court proceedings.

Sharma, who had attended the entire hearing on the appeal, was also not present in the court on Monday when his son was held guilty for murdering the model at the south Delhi restaurant on April 29-30, 1999.

However, controversial Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav, father of Vikas Yadav, sentenced to four years imprisonment with Amardeep Singh Gill alias Tony, an executive with a multi-national was present in the court.
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Not death, please: Manu's appeal

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New Delhi: Manu Sharma, found guilty of murdering model Jessica Lall seven years ago, on Wednesday appealed before the Delhi High Court that he must not be given the death sentence, as the crime was did not fall in the category of rarest of rare crimes.

Sharma's lawyer R K Nasseem appealed before a Bench comprising Justice R S Sodhi and Justice P K Bhasin that the murder was not pre-planned and his client was a first time offender.

Citing court judgments, Nasseem said the case did not fall in the rarest-of-rare category. "There is no such proof that the convict is habitual killer and that he is not incorrigible," he said during the arguments on quantum of sentence.

However, the Bench did not agree with the prosecution argument that the offence falls on the category of rarest of rare warranting death sentence.

"There is nothing on record that the offence falls under the rarest of rare category. The murder though intentional was committed without any prior motive," the Bench said.

"We have heard the counsel for both the parties, we are of the view that though the case has shaken the conscience of the society yet it cannot be held that the convict (Manu) deserved maximum punishment," the Bench said.

Sharma, son of a Congress leader in Haryana, was convicted on Monday for murdering Jessica at a south Delhi restaurant owned by socialite Bina Ramani on April 29-30, 1999.

The two other co-accused Vikas Yadav, son of former Rajya Sabha MP D P Yadav, and Amardeep Singh Gill alias Tony were convicted for conspiring to destroy the evidence.

All the three accused are currently in the High Court hear their sentences.

Naseem said "all endeavour should be made to bring a convict back to the society".

Gill's lawyer R D Rana sought a lenient punishment on the ground that his client didn’t know that removing the car in which Sharma fled from the murder scene was a crime.

On this, the Bench said: "Ignorance of law cannot be a ground to give leniency".

Rana said Gill came from a good and reputed family and was of good character. However, the submission for leniency on the ground that he was employed with a multi-national firm did not impress the Bench which observed that "this may be a ground which may go against you (Tony)".


Source: IBN LiVE

 

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Not death, please: Manu's appeal
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Manu Sharma, found guilty of murdering model Jessica Lall seven years ago, on Wednesday appealed before the Delhi High Court that he must not be given the death sentence, as the crime was did not fall in the category of rarest of rare crimes.

What bullshit..... :SugarwareZ-158:

the guy committed the crime seven years ago.... and in such a brutal fashion..... Nothing less than a death penalty should be given..... Then only such monsters can be dealt with......... :bump::bump:

 

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Jessica's sister narrates her story in a candid chat
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JUSTICE AT LAST: Sabrina Lall answers viewers' queries on a CNN-IBN show on Wednesday.



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[CENTER][COLOR=Sienna][B]LIST OF THE 29 WITNESSES[/B][/COLOR][/CENTER]
            [CENTER]Shayan Munshi
   Shivdas
   Karan Rajput
   Parikshit Sagar
   Andaleeb Sehgal
   Manoj
   Balbir Singh
   Srinarayan 
   Parsen Lal Thapar
   Shanker Mukhia 
   Harpal Singh 
   Chandraprakash Chabra
   Abijit Ghoshal
   Varun Shah
   Mukesh Saini 
   Chetan Nanda 
   Ashok Dutt 
   Baldev Singh
   Ishdeep Sharma
   Ali Mohammad 
   Ranbeer Singh Gill
   Kulwinder Singh
   Niranjan Ram
   Mangal Singh
   Rakesh Kumar Atri
   Gajender Singh
   Jagannath Jha
   Dr Prem Sagar Manocha
   Babu Lal[/CENTER]

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New Delhi: It’s a case that had caught the collective imagination of the public and the media at large.

The Jessica Lall murder case was keenly watched not just because it was the case of a young model being shot at in an up-market party in the heart of the Capital, but more so because it proved to be a test case of whether or not the ‘high and mighty’ could be brought to book.

Is it then people’s power that has overturned what many call the ‘miscarriage of justice’ when the trial court had acquitted all accused just a year ago?

CNN-IBN explored the role of the Indian citizens, the media and what the last seven years have meant for the Lall family.

Jessica’s sister Sabrina Lall—a woman who has been a lone warrior for the past seven-years-braved the case, despite facing several personal losses. She answers viewers questions just after Manu Sharma was announced a life term by the High Court on Wednesday.

Ques: Does the life sentence to Manu Sharma mark a closure to your battle?

I certainly hope so. There is definitely a feeling of closure and relief. I do hope this be the complete end to this battle that I have fought all these years.

Ques: Many witnesses who turned hostile in the case, could perhaps have been friends and colleagues of Jessica Lall had she been alive today. These are the people who have now been sent a court notice for turning hostile in the case. What would you say about that?

All these 29 or 30 hostile witnesses who have now been sent a notice by the court were not really friends of Jessica. The only person who knew Jessica well was Shyan Munshi. You could not really term him a ‘friend’ but he was certainly an acquaintance. I was a bit upset the way he turned turtle in the case.

The 29 witnesses including model-turned actor Shyan Munshi who ‘turned turtle’ will now have to answer some fierce questions as they appear before the court on February 1.

Ques: Ram Jethmalani after he took up Manu Sharma’s case had come up with a character assassination theory of Jessica Lall. Did that hurt you when you heard that?

Of course it hurt. The strangest part is when somebody asked him a question that how come you are assassinating a dead girl’s character—who is not even there to defend herself—he said that "I did not assassinate her character, in fact I gave her some because I said she refused." I really don’t know what to really say about Mr Jethmalani.

Ques: Your parents died in the course of the battle for justice. The real culprits behind this were perhaps the police officers who tried to mislead the case for a long time. Don’t you think that until the rogue officers are convicted, justice cannot really be done?

I agree with that. But getting Manu Sharma—the person who did the crime—convicted was the first step. Now with the SIT report coming up, I’m sure

that the rogue police officers will be punished.

Ques: What do you have to say about the Rs 50,000 compensation that has been provided as compensation for the death of your sister, mother and father.

I do not want any of Manu Sharma’s money. I have no interest in it at all. But since court has awarded this amount, I will grab it and give it away to charity.

Ques: Manu Sharma is going to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. How will you handle that?

They (Manu Sharma, Amrinder Singh Gill and Vikas Yadav) are bound to appeal in the Supreme Court. But I don’t think that the SC is going to overturn the High Court’s judgement.

Ques: Why was Bina Ramani, a key witness in the Jessica Lall case was not convicted for wiping out the evidence from the crime scene?

Bina was not charged because they no conclusive evidence was found against her. That was the reason why she was not booked for destruction of evidence. The reason why she was arrested was altogether a different charge.

Whereas this case was concerned, Bina Ramani’s testimony was as good as that of an eye witness account, and it was on the basis of her testimony that the High Court appreciated the evidence and link it with all other evidences to convict Manu Sharma.

Ques: Don’t you think that the Former law minister of India, Ram Jethmalani who took up Manu Sharma’s case deserves a more severe punishment than the accused?

I do feel bad for the people who went out of the way to subvert justice. Yet, it’s my personal opinion that the boy must not have been given a death sentence.

Ques: Were there any fears in your mind that Manu Sharma could have been acquitted this time round as well?

There was certain amount of fear. You cannot be too confident when you are up against these kinds of people. But having said that I was confident that the case was going right, and the evidences were being presented correctly. Yet, to have a little bit of doubt is perhaps natural.

Ques: Are you satisfied with a mere life sentence to someone who is a murderer and has been evading law for a long time?

A lot of people have been asking me this question. I maintained right from day one that all I want is to get Manu Sharma convicted. I feel satisfied that he has been given a life imprisonment. I never wanted him to be hanged.

A capital punishment to him would have meant that his friends, family and loved ones would have suffered. I would rather the boy himself suffer. A long term in prison would befit more for this boy rather than just hanging him and finishing him off.

Ques: The SIT report points out to the police officials who were accused of misleading the course of investigation. Would you not like them to be convicted as well to get complete justice in this case?

The SIT investigations are going to be taken up after the vacations and the New Year. I’m quite sure that the police officers who have colluded with the accused and subverted justice would definitely be booked under law.

Ques: Jessica Lall’s case is just one of the many cases with the only given exception that Manu Sharma got convicted and sentenced, while there are so many similar cases that rot away from media attention in different parts of our country.

Would you then say that Jessica’s case would help many other cases get justice in the country?

Yes, indeed it would. Jessica’s case is in many ways a landmark judgement. People who are politically connected always get away with crime. There are very few convictions in such cases.

So, the very fact that he has been convicted is a huge step and it would make all the other people feel more hopeful and more positive about the judiciary that it is finally coming down strongly on all the criminals.

Ques: Manu Sharma’s father a former minister has been trying tooth and nail to save his son. What do you think it shows about the morality of politicians in this country?

Well, the moment you say ‘politicians’ the word ‘morality’ itself goes flying out of the window. He has all the money in the world to help his son, but unfortunately its not just about hiring the best lawyers and trying to subvert justice at every step of the way, it now a huge slap on his face finally that the judiciary has woken up and recognised his son as the murderer.

I heard some statement given by him earlier that “as long as my son gets a clean chit I’m not going to comeback to politics” ; I’m happy now hoping that we have lost him as a politician.


Source: IBN LiVE