PTI
New Delhi, Dec 20: Two days after he was convicted for murdering model Jessica Lall, Manu Sharma, son of a senior Congress leader, was on Wednesday given life sentence by the Delhi High Court, rejecting prosecution demand for death penalty.
Sharma, who surrendered after his conviction on Monday, was present in the jam-packed courtroom when a Bench comprising Justice R S Sodhi and Justice P K Bhasin pronounced life imprisonment for him.
The Bench also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Sharma, son of former Haryana Minister Vinod Sharma.
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The other two convicts -- Vikas Yadav, son of controversial Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav, and Amardeep Singh Gill alias Tony, an executive with MNC, were sentenced to four years imprisonment with a fine of Rs 3000 each for conspiring to destroy the evidence.
During an hour-long argument on the quantum of sentence, prosecution demanded maximum punishment of death sentence while defence sought leniency from the court on the ground that the case did not fall in the rarest of the rare category. 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.
During an hour-long argument on the quantum of sentence, prosecution demanded maximum punishment of death sentence while defence sought leniency from the court on the ground that the case did not fall in the rarest of the rare category. 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.
While handing the life sentence to Manu Sharma, the Bench said "it cannot be held that there is no probability that the offender would reform himself in future". The court said the crime was committed in heat of passion and 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.
While awarding four years imprisonment to Vikas Yadav and Tony Gill, the Bench agreed with prosecution arguments that it was a case in which the convicts 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.
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