Justice delayed, but not denied

It's a landmark judgment in the annals of the Indian judiciary. After 10 years of intense legal battle, Santosh Singh the main accused in the Priyadarshini Matoo rape and murder case was finally sentenced to death by the Delhi High Court for the heinous crime based on circumstantial evidence. The court also took the earlier sessions court to task for dismissing the case and acquitting the accused for lack of evidence when the judge himself knew that in all probability Santosh, that too a budding Law student and a son of a leading Delhi police officer had committed the murder. It was a moral victory for the ailing father of Priyarshini after almost 10 years though he had lost his precious young daughter who was also a brilliant law student

The landmark judgment opens up a new chapter and would be a precedent for many such earlier crimes like the Jessica Lall case which has also been re opened. Let's hope that this case would change for ever the age old adage 'Justice Delayed is Justice Denied' to 'Guilty would inevitably be punished even if delayed'

Truly a great day for the Indian Judiciary!

RK