Sushil Sharma, president of the Delhi Youth Congress (I), shot his wife Naina Sahni on 2 July 1995 and tried to burn her body in a restaurant tandoor. He was s…
Naina Sahni was shot at the flat she shared with her husband, Youth Congress chief Sushil Sharma.
A police patrol found the manager stoking a tandoor. Inside was her charred body.
Her parents could not identify the body. A party colleague did; DNA confirmed it later.
Sharma was caught after eight days on the run. His revolver was in a hotel briefcase.
X-rays found two bullets in the skull and neck. She had died of a gunshot to the head.
From a charred body to a DNA match.
Sharma, manager Keshav Kumar and three men accused of hiding Sharma were charged.
Sharma said press coverage made a fair trial impossible. The court disagreed.
Ten circumstances, one conclusion.
Sharma was convicted of murder. Keshav Kumar was convicted only of destroying evidence.
Sharma got death. Keshav Kumar got seven years' rigorous imprisonment.
Every accused, and the outcome.
Two judges upheld the conviction and the death sentence, citing extreme depravity.
The conviction stood, but this was not rarest of rare. Life would mean the rest of his life.
Same facts, different weight.
After 23 years in jail, the Delhi board rejected his plea for premature release.
The court called the refusal arbitrary and ordered his release forthwith.
The guidelines the board had to follow.
Three courts, three outcomes.
The murder conviction stands. Only the punishment changed, three times.
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