A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a students' union president of a Delhi University college 14 years ago by a Delhi court, which termed it as a "rare" case.
Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau sentenced Jitender alias Kalla for murdering Anil Badana, the then president of Satyawati College students' union and made it clear that he would not be considered for any remission till he spends 30 years in jail.
"I am of a considered opinion that this case cannot be put on the same pedestal as other ordinary murder cases. It is also true that punishment in every case does send a message to the community at large.
"Thus besides a number of other factors to be considered one of the relevant factor... Is the sentiments of community or the message which may travel to the community at large and the fact that it may deter similar other such like offenders. The present case can be easily classified as a 'rare case' which calls for the exercising of alternative options by the court," the judge said.
The court imposed a fine of Rs four lakh on Kalla, who is in jail from past over 13 years, and said if the amount is realised, Rs two lakh should be given to the victim's family.
According to the prosecution, Kalla had shot dead Badana, 26, at a marriage function under Keshav Puram police station on March 10, 1999. Kalla was harbouring ill-will against Badana as he was going to depose against him in a criminal case, it said.
Kalla had also injured the bridegroom's father Madan Lal Sharma while opening fire indiscriminately as those attending function tried to nab him, it said.
One of the eye witnesses Sumit Nayyar, who had informed the police about the incident, had to pay a heavy price as Kalla immediately went to his home at Mukherjee Nagar to kill him but when he realised that Sumit had not reached there, the accused pumped three bullets in the chest of his father to scare him away from maintaining his stand before the police.
