The Delhi High Court yesterday sentenced a wealthy Indian politician's son to life in prison for the 1999 killing of a former model.
Manu Sharma, 31, was convicted for shooting Jessica Lall after she refused to serve him a drink at an upscale New Delhi bar because it was closing time.
Lall, who was a model and a celebrity, was serving drinks for one evening at a party at the bar.
The case was seen as a test of the Indian judiciary's willingness to take on powerful people that are accused of criminal offenses.
"There's a certain amount of closure now ... for all of these seven-and-a-half years we've all been waiting and now it's finally done," the victim's sister, Sabrina Lall, said to reporters outside the courtroom after the verdict.
The trial made headlines after a lower court acquitted Sharma earlier this year. Dozens of people witnessed the killing, but most later recanted their testimonies as the case moved through the courts.
The earlier acquittal drew sharp criticism from New Delhi's citizens, who held street protests for several days, forcing authorities to reopen the investigation.
Sharma is the son of Venod Sharma, an influential politician and former governing Congress party minister in northern Haryana state, with business interests in sugar mills.
RSS