The Supreme Court on Monday brought down the curtain on the much-publicised Jessica Lall murder case, confirming the conviction and life sentence awarded to Sidhartha Vashisht alias Manu Sharma, son of a former Haryana minister, for the horrific 1999 shooting at point-blank range of an upcoming model at a South Delhi restaurant.
The case, which saw several ups and downs with the trial court setting Manu free in December 2006, got finality on Monday with a bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and Swatanter Kumar finding no illegality in the 2007 verdict of the Delhi High Court setting aside the trial judge’s acquittal order and sending the accused to jail to serve a life sentence.
Manu has been in jail since 2007 and had remained in judicial custody for nearly three years during trial before being released on bail. He altogether has already served jail time of six years. Since the HC order did not specify, a life term would normally mean 14 years actually spent behind bars, after which a convict would be entitled to assessment of his conduct during imprisonment to claim release.
The Supreme Court also upheld the conviction of two of Manu’s friends — Vikas Yadav, son of former Rajya Sabha MP Mr D.P. Yadav, now a BSP leader; and Amandeep Singh Gill, an MNC executive — for helping Manu to destroy evidence. Both were sentenced to four years’ imprisonment by the HC.
The Supreme Court also took into account the “conduct” of Manu Sharma immediately after the crime, saying “it proved his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”
Showing posts with label SC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SC. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
A political blunder: Lalu
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad on Sunday declared that the Women's Reservation Bill was ‘a political blunder' and a conspiracy hatched by the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party to suppress representation of women from the backward classes.
Talking to journalists before leaving for Delhi to elicit support against the passage of the Bill, Mr. Prasad said: “Why only 33 per cent? I am for 50 per cent reservation for women if you like. But you cannot ignore the interests of women belonging to Other Backward Classes [OBC], Scheduled Castes [SC], Scheduled Tribes [ST] and backward sections of the Muslim community.”
“Women like Sushma Swaraj never needed a ‘reservation plank' to reach the top. It proves that the proposed Bill will only serve to further the interests of the elite classes.”
Severely censuring Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's U-turn on the Bill, Mr. Prasad remarked that he had been a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee in 1997 to examine the Bill, and had submitted a note of dissent then.
Dubbing Mr. Kumar a bahurupiya (one who changes colours), Mr. Prasad said the Chief Minister's opportunistic tactics were merely to appease his alliance partner, the BJP.
Commenting that the RJD would not give up the fight to oppose the Bill, Mr. Prasad said: “We will fight it tooth and nail and are even prepared to be marshalled out for that matter.”
Further, he revealed that certain top leaders from the BJP and the Congress were in constant touch with him and told him if their parties had not issued the whip they would have voted against the Bill.
Stating that the Centre did not have the guts to implement the Ranganath Mishra and the Sachar Panel reports, Mr. Prasad said the renewed focus on Women's Bill was a “diversionary tactic” to draw attention away from real issues.
Talking to journalists before leaving for Delhi to elicit support against the passage of the Bill, Mr. Prasad said: “Why only 33 per cent? I am for 50 per cent reservation for women if you like. But you cannot ignore the interests of women belonging to Other Backward Classes [OBC], Scheduled Castes [SC], Scheduled Tribes [ST] and backward sections of the Muslim community.”
“Women like Sushma Swaraj never needed a ‘reservation plank' to reach the top. It proves that the proposed Bill will only serve to further the interests of the elite classes.”
Severely censuring Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's U-turn on the Bill, Mr. Prasad remarked that he had been a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee in 1997 to examine the Bill, and had submitted a note of dissent then.
Dubbing Mr. Kumar a bahurupiya (one who changes colours), Mr. Prasad said the Chief Minister's opportunistic tactics were merely to appease his alliance partner, the BJP.
Commenting that the RJD would not give up the fight to oppose the Bill, Mr. Prasad said: “We will fight it tooth and nail and are even prepared to be marshalled out for that matter.”
Further, he revealed that certain top leaders from the BJP and the Congress were in constant touch with him and told him if their parties had not issued the whip they would have voted against the Bill.
Stating that the Centre did not have the guts to implement the Ranganath Mishra and the Sachar Panel reports, Mr. Prasad said the renewed focus on Women's Bill was a “diversionary tactic” to draw attention away from real issues.
