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‘ At Last, Justice For Jessica

There is a higher court than
courts of justice and that is the

’
court of conscience. It supersedes
all other courts.
MAHATMA GANDHI

NEWS DIGEST
Second city airport No one killed Jessica, said TOI the day after her killer was set free by the trial court. The acquittal generated countrywide
outrage. Many of you came out on the streets to protest the verdict. Exactly 300 days later, the high court has overturned the DGP’s rape
to be ready by 2012
The Centre will invite bids from global
operators for Mumbai’s proposed
verdict. Manu Sharma is the killer, the HC has ruled. Tomorrow we’ll know whether he gets death or a life term. convict son
second airport at Copra-Panvel that is The new verdict is as much a victory of justice as a tribute to your determination to see that the killer doesn’t go scot-free given parole,
expected to come up by 2012. P 5
Rahul Chhabra & Abhinav Garg | TNN
Speeding car hits five: Five persons
were hit by an Indica at Evershine New Delhi: Someone did kill Jessica Lall, after all. And it
Delhi high court says Convictions are based goes missing
the acquittals of killer Manu on Bina Ramani's
Nagar in Malad on Saturday. A 23-year- was, as many had suspected, Manu Sharma, the son of an in- Prakash Bhandari | TNN
old girl who works for a BPO firm fluential politician, who almost got away by threatening or Sharma and his accomplices testimony. She not only
suffered multiple fractures in the paying off witnesses, leaving the country in shocked outrage. Vikas Yadav and Amardeep “identified'' Manu and his Jaipur: The son of a pow-
mishap. P 3 Exactly 300 days after Manu and his friends were allowed to Singh Gill in February by trial friends at the restaurant on erful Orissa police officer
walk free by the trial court of S L Bhayana, the Delhi high judge S L Bhayana were who was serving a seven-
court on Monday convicted Manu for
the fateful night of April year jail term for raping a
IN THE COURTS “an immature 29, 1999, but also saw
TWO DOWN murdering Jessica. He is back in Tihar
Jail after a lapse of almost five years. assessment...based “Manu Sharma firing
German researcher in an
Alwar hotel in April has
Lalu, Rabri cleared: A ONE TO GO on misreading of
Manu will receive his sentence on the fatal shot which jumped the law and dis-
CBI court on Monday
acquitted railway
Wednesday —it’ll either be death or a material'' hit Jessica Lall'', appeared. B H ‘Biti’ Mo-
life term at the minimum. hanty, son of Orissa DGP
minister Lalu Prasad the judges say
Justice and truth have finally pre- B B Mohanty, was quietly
and his wife Rabri Bhayana's decision to reject
vailed. The conviction of the killer in given parole by Rajasthan
Devi in a dispropor- the testimony of the Ramani
tionate assets case. P 12
this sensational case—which brought They throw out the two- prison authorities but red-
thousands of people out on to the streets family and the circumstantial weapon theory of defence, faced officials said he had
to protest against Manu’s acquittal, with evidence of Manu's Tata failed to return. The head
Dutt may buy time: saying it appears to be a
Actor Sanjay Dutt,
whose bail expires on
Manu Sharma
(Jessica Lall case)
candlelight vigils and silent marches—
has restored people’s faith in the rule of WHAT Safari at the scene of
the crime were
“concoction and
of the prison in Jaipur
where he was lodged has
law: even those with awesome clout have manipulation of now asked the Rajasthan
Tuesday, will seek
more time to
to pay for their crime.
‘‘My father died waiting to hear this
TURNED “positively perverse'',
say Justices Sodhi
evidence'' by and Orissa police to trace
him and lock him up.
surrender, citing actor-turned-hostile
personal reasons, including his
daughter’s visit from the US. P 4
verdict,” said Jessica’s sister Sabrina.
“His soul will now be able to rest in THE CASE and Bhasin witness Shayan Munshi
Biti Mohanty, a former
management student in a
peace.” Sabrina also thanked the media: Delhi institute, was re-
“I thank you guys who started the cam-
Jessica’s sister Sabrina celebrates SENTENCE TOMORROW leased on parole for 15
Santosh Singh
Cama unit to be closed: The state paign for justice for Jessica.” ‘Justice for days on his written re-
(Priya Mattoo case)
government has ordered the Jessica’, as our readers will recall, was a quest to visit his mother
gynaecology unit of the state-run
Cama Hospital shut after complaints of
medical negligence. P 5
TOI campaign. She also sought a life sen-
tence for Manu, not death. The outrage
over Jessica also trained the spotlight on
two other sensational murders —that of
Delhi HC lambasts trial judge
Ananthakrishnan G | TNN And if that wasn’t enough, there was
Shubhra Mohanty, who
was said to be seriously
ill. Although he was to re-
port back on December 4,
MAN OR WOMAN? P 9, 18, 26 Priyadarshini Mattoo and Nitish Katara. a liberal sprinkling of adjectives like he did not do so.
Coming to Monday’s dramatic ver- New Delhi: While reversing the acquit- “strange’’, “totally wrong’’, “immature’’ The jail authorities in
Santhi loses medal, gets Rs 15 lakh: Vikas Yadav
dict, a bench comprising Justices R S tal of Manu Sharma, the Delhi high and “positively perverse’’ in the high Jaipur claimed to have re-
Asiad 800 metres silver (Nitish Katara case)
Sodhi and P K Bhasin also convicted court on Monday questioned the bona court order as it punched more holes in ceived two fax messages
medalist Santhi Vikas Yadav, son of ‘tainted’ ex-MP fides of the trial court verdict delivered additional sessions judge S L Bhayana’s from the father, who is DGP
Soundarajan was FULL COVERAGE D P Yadav, and former cola company ex- by S L Bhayana, who is now himself a verdict setting the accused free. (Home Guards and Fire
stripped of her medal on P 12, 14 & 15 ecutive Amardeep Singh Gill for con- judge of the high court. The high court pointed out a contra- Services) in Orissa, seek-
Monday for failing the spiring with Manu to destroy the evi- The high court held that Bhayana’s diction—the trial court, while relying ing extension of Biti’s pa-
gender test even as the dence of his presence at the crime scene. Yadav and Gill were decision to discard the testimony of on the evidence of certain witnesses to role saying he was mental-
TN government gave her Rs 15 lakh. found to have returned to the restaurant after Jessica’s mur- prosecution witness Deepak Bhowani show that four of the accused were ly ill and undergoing trea-
der on the night of April 29, 1999 to take away Manu’s Tata Sa- not only “reflects total lack of applica- present in the restaurant, also doubted tment in a hospital.
fari. They are liable to get a maximum sentence of seven years. tion of mind’’ but also “suggests a hasty their very testimony “without even
MARKET WATCH approach towards securing a particular Jessica’s parents died without making a real analysis of their evi- t ‘Not an absconder’, P 13
t Bench dumps two-gun theory, P 15 end, namely the acquittals’’. seeing her killer convicted dence’’.
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India uncorks bubbly
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pure Øankiflg.1
YOU SAID IT R K LAXMAN te Bank of India nothing eIs
- i f t h e wa y
a J
Bobbili Vijay Kumar
th y o u -

Thank God no one noticed it, and

they are clapping by mistake. I gave
him the speech I had drafted for him
to deliver at the children’s welfare
centre next week

fiTi ffluIFIThTh ’
indiatimes.com Poll
Yesterday’s Result: Judicial activism is a good
thing.

Yes, at No, running Politicians TEAM SPIRIT: Captain Rahul Dravid and coach Greg Chappell raise a toast to the Men in
have to Blue who notched up their first Test victory on South African soil on Monday
ilniilitill
least they the country
deliver is not their learn
74% job 8% 18%
Bobilli Vijay Kumar | TNN action from up close and it’s tempted to
Today’s Poll: Team India’s dark days are over. say just one thing—the celebrations were
Vote on indiatimes.com or SMS ‘Poll’ to 8888 Johannesburg: For 14 long years, South scarcely “appropriate’’. Perhaps for the
Africa has been the unconquered final fron- first time in their lives, as a group the team
tier—victory has eluded India on three ear- members shed their inhibitions and be-
lier visits and nine different Test match- haved like a bunch of wild boys.
es here. And when the first Test began at The action began as soon as the party
the Wanderers on Friday, even the ghosts shifted indoors in the sanctity and pri-
didn’t give them a chance. vacy of the dressing room. Suddenly, and
On Monday, India overcame all these hur- as if on cue, all the players converged on
dles and the many devils in their own minds the hall and started screaming at the top
to script a sensational turnaround and score of their voices. Then, a dozen champagne
the sweetest of victories. bottles miraculously ma-
The cocky South Africans WINNING NOTES terialised.
WEATHER just didn’t know what had FROM SA P 25 & 27 As the captain and
hit them as the Indians bat- coach took gentle sips,
Sunrise: Wednesday-0706 hrs ted, bowled and fielded like men possessed Virender Sehwag reached out for one of
Sunset: Tuesday-1805 hrs
Moonrise: Tuesday-0550 hrs for a remarkable 129-run victory. the bottles. And without warning, and as
Moonset: Wednesday-1748 hrs “It’s unbelievable,’’ Rahul Dravid told fast as his bat comes down to meet the ball
Colaba Forecast: Mainly clear skies. TOI, as he warmly hugged his little son on his good days, he shook the bottle and
34.60/20.50 Minimum temperatures will while the team danced around him. “It’s sprayed the contents on everybody he could
be around 15 deg Celsius. a special moment for this group,’’ he said lay his eyes on. Within seconds it had be-
Santa Cruz Relative humidity: Colaba later at a press conference. “To come to come an open war—everybody throwing
33.60/15.60 70%, Santa Cruz 48% South Africa and achieve our first-ever everything on everyone else.
Test victory is a truly great feeling. We “Everyone has gone berserk,’’ said
TIMES celebrated appropriately,’’ he said, flash- Dravid, as he broke away from the party
GOA GUIDE ing a huge grin, but refusing to reveal any- to carry out his duties as captain. “We will
thing more. continue partying later in the evening,’’
Now available in all TOI was, however, there to watch the he added.
book stores
INDIAN TEST HISTORY
Tests Won Lost Drawn Tie Success %
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+ 4 PAGES YOUR MONEY
Abroad 194 27 82 85 0 35.83
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