Life term for Sharma in Jessica murder case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court yesterday sentenced Manu Sharma to life imprisonment for killing model Jessica Lal seven and a half years ago.

Co-accused Vikas Yadav and sacked Coca Cola senior manager Amardeep Singh Gill were sentenced to four years' rigorous imprisonment for destruction of evidence in the April 1999 sensational shootout case.

The court had earlier found the trio guilty in its verdict delivered on Monday. The Division Bench of Justices R.S. Sodhi and P.K. Bhasin yesterday decided quantum of punishments and delivered the verdict after hearing arguments that lasted for an hour.

While the gallows awaited Sharma, son of senior Haryana Congress leader Venod Sharma, the court accepted the leniency plea of Sharma's lawyer by observing that this murder did not fall in the rarest of rare category.

"The murder though intentional was committed without any prior motive," the court observed, while slapping a fine of Rs50,000 on Sharma. Failure to pay the fine would attract a further three years in prison.

Challenge

Sharma, who is locked up at the Tihar Central Jail since Monday night and was present in the court along with his two accomplices, almost heaved a sigh of relief. "This was in my fate. This was decided by my destiny," he said.

According to estimates, Sharma may have to spend a minimum of 13 years in prison if the Supreme Court does not reverse his sentence. Although his lawyer R.K. Naseem said they will challenge the verdict in the apex court, the risk of the Supreme Court deciding the extreme punishment cannot be ruled out since Naseem yesterday went on record, virtually conceding that Sharma had indeed killed Jessica.

"The offence was committed in a heat of passion, unprovoked and unpremeditated. Manu was not a habitual criminal," Naseem told the court while seeking leniency for his client.

Jessica's younger sister Sabrina Lal also welcomed the life imprisonment for Sharma, although for different reasons. According to her, death sentence is a punishment to the family while in case of life imprisonment Sharma will get enough time to repent for his crime.

If the mood of the High Court was any indication, some more people including model turned actor Shayan Munshi may also have to serve prison terms. Munshi was among the 29 witnesses who had turned hostile in the lower court.