New Delhi:
The Supreme Court has upheld the life sentence given to Manu Sharma for the murder of model Jessica Lall.
On April 29, 1999, Jessica was bartending at a Delhi restaurant owned by designer Bina Ramani, who was hosting a private party that night. Sharma asked Jessica for a drink. When she refused, he shot her. (
Read: The Jessica Lall case timeline)
Jessica was rushed to a hospital by Ramani, where she was declared dead. (
Watch: Relieved after the verdict, says Bina Ramani)
Two days later, Sharma's abandoned Tata Safari car was found in Noida, near Delhi. Sharma himself surrendered a few days after that. He has, since then, denied that he killed Jessica.
But the Supreme Court, in its judgment, has said, "The prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt the presence of Manu Sharma at the site of the offence."
"My family is happy. It has given us a lot of satisfaction," said Sabrina Lall, Jessica's sister, who has been leading the campaign for justice for her sister's death. (
Watch: My family is happy, says Sabrina Lall)
A trial court in Delhi first acquitted Sharma in February 2006. The Delhi High Court then reversed that decision in December 2006. Sharma appealed to the Supreme Court against the High Court's verdict that found him guilty.
"I am happy that my judgment has found favour with the Supreme Court", said retired judge RS Sodhi who had delivered the High Court verdict. "It was the media that brought it to our attention that this case had been lingering on for such a long time," said Sodhi.
The Jessica Lall case struck a chord with middle-class India which saw it as a classic example of an average family taking on rich and powerful opponents. The trial also exposed the weaknesses of the legal system. The case stretched for years without any major development, and one after another, key witnesses turned hostile. (
Watch: Happy with Supreme Court judgement, says Neelam Katara)
They included Shyan Munshi, who was a model and a friend of Jessica's. He first said he had seen the murder happen and that Manu Sharma had fired the gun twice; but in 2001, he failed to identify Sharma in court, dealing a huge blow to the prosecution. He also said his earlier statement against Sharma should be disregarded because it was written in Hindi, a language he was not familiar with. By this time, Munshi had acted in a Bollywood movie where he delivered entire dialogues in Hindi.
The two witnesses who are credited with helping to convict Sharma are Ramani, and her daughter, Malini, who was also present when Jessica was killed. Bina Ramani identified Manu Sharma, Amardeep Singh Gil, Alok Khanna and Vikas Yadav as present at the restaurant. Malini Ramani said she had overheard the conversation when Jessica refused Manu Sharma a drink which led him to pull out his gun and both said they saw Sharma shoot Jessica. The testimony was corroborated by Bina's husband George Mailhot.
The Ramanis have repeatedly said that they received death threats asking them to turn hostile in the case.
Also Watch: Vidya Balan on Jessica Lall case