The Hindu : New Delhi News : Decision welcomed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 21, 2006
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Decision welcomed

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: United Students, the youth organisation that initiated the Justice for Jessica Lal and Justice for Priyadarshini Mattoo campaigns, on Wednesday welcomed the Delhi High Court's decision to award life sentence to Manu Sharma in the Jessica Lal murder case.

Welcoming the judgment, Dhruv Suri, who pioneered the Justice for Jessica Lal campaign, said: "Our belief that a fair trial will always result in justice had been restored. We knew this case would not fall under the category of the rarest of rare cases so a life imprisonment was only a fair order. Cheers to the judiciary and people power!"

Terming the High Court's decision in the Jessica Lal case as "the second most historical verdict of 2006", Aditya Raj Kaul, youth activist and initiator of the Justice for Priyadarshini Mattoo campaign, said: "It was not only a victory for the Lal family or the campaigners for justice in the case; it was a victory for each and every Indian citizen. It took seven long years but finally truth prevailed." Mr. Kaul said the sentence was a "big blow" to all those with "money and muscle power" . "The verdict will surely act as a strong deterrent and set a precedent for all future cases."

DCW chairperson Kiran Walia said: "For long the Commission had been pressing for a fair re-trial in the case. Today's verdict was a triumph for all the women activists, media and other supporters."

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