New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on
April 12 an appeal by city police challenging the lenient
sentence imposed by the Delhi High Court to Sanjeev Nanda,
convicted for mowing down six persons with his speeding BMW
car in a drunken state 10 years ago.
The city police contended that Nanda, a grandson of
former Navy Chief S M Nanda, should be convicted under the
stringent provision of Section 304 (Part II) (culpable
homicide not amounting to murder) which carried a punishment
up to 10 years jail term.
A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishanan
adjourned the case for April 12 after Nanda's counsel Ram
Jethmalani expressed personal difficulty in arguing the case.
The High Court on July 20 last year granted a major
relief to Nanda by setting aside trial court's conviction
under the provision of culpable homicide not amounting to
murder and convicted him under Section 304A (causing death by
rash and negligent act) of the IPC which carries a maximum
punishment of two years.
Nanda, son of arms dealer Suresh Nanda, has already
served his two year sentence.
The court had pointed that "agony and trauma" that he
had undergone in the past 10 years appeared to have weighed
heavily in his favour.
The court had also upheld the conviction of three
others -- businessman Rajeev Gupta and his two employees Bhola
Nath and Shyam Singh -- for destruction of evidence but halved
their jail term.
Gupta's sentence was reduced to six months prison
term from one year awarded by a trial court. His two employees
were awarded three months jail term, down from their six
months sentence.
PTI
First Published: Monday, March 22, 2010, 19:47