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Not death, life in jail for ex-Army officer

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Utkarsh Anand

Posted: May 04, 2008 at 0017 hrs IST

New Delhi, May 3 October 2, 1982. Krishan Sikand, a city-based businessman receives a parcel at his Sunder Nagar house. He opens it, and the hand grenade meticulously concealed in it explodes. It leaves Sikand dead.
Lt Col S J Chaudhary (retired) planted the bomb to avenge Sikand’s alleged affair with his estranged wife, the CBI claims in court.

Twenty-five years, seven months and a day on, a city court on Saturday sentenced the retired Armyman to life imprisonment.

District and Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Chaudhary, now 72, under various provisions of the IPC.

The court, however, refused to treat the case as “rarest of rare”, as argued by the CBI, which warrants death penalty.

Minutes after the judgment, the victim’s father, H D Sikand, told Newsline that he felt “satisfied” but “not happy”. “It (the judgment) is coming after 26 years and I have waited all these years to see my son get justice,” the 97-year-old said. “I do not know much about the system but the delay and loss of my son take away a little of my happiness.” But perhaps, he added, the wheel of justice moves “at this pace only”.

Sikand, though, asserted that he did not want death sentence for Chaudhary as it would help no one, and “mean nothing to me”.

The victim’s son, Sanjay Sikand, also called the punishment “satisfactory”.

The judgment, though, left Chaudhary visibly relaxed. A discernible strain on the faces of his relatives present in court for the final order also vanished almost as soon as Sehgal pronounced the verdict: “I sentence you to life term.”

One of Chaudhary’s relatives said, “Life term is a lot relaxing; we at least have a way out to approach the higher court.”

Post-verdict, Chaudhary wished to address the court and blamed the media for creating hype around the case and people revolving around it. “It should not matter whether someone is 97 or 98,” he said, “and the case should be judged on its merit… the media remained biased against me throughout the trial.”

But the judge replied that she was not affected by the media reports, and similar should be Chaudhary’s reaction, as he would not become a king if the media wrote so.

But taking a further dig at the media, Chaudhary quipped, “Certainly I will become a king if the media says so.”

Case chronology
* Oct 2, 1982: Sikand killed in a parcel bomb explosion at his house in Sunder Nagar, south Delhi
* Aug 1, 1983: Lt Colonel S J Choudhary (retired) arrested
* Aug 5, 1983: CBI seizes a typewriter used to write address on the envelope carrying killer parcel bomb
* Apr 23, 1984: Court frames charges of murder and using explosives against the Army officer
* July 1999: CBI concludes recording of evidence with examination of 76 prosecution witnesses
* Nov 29, 2000: Court starts hearing case on day-to-day basis
* Jan 4, 2001: Due to preoccupation in hearing Uphaar fire case, the court expresses its inability to hear the matter on day-to-day basis
* Apr 10, 2002: H D Sikand, victim’s father and owner of Sikand Motors showroom in CP, approaches HC seeking a swift trial
* Apr 18, 2007: Dismissing petition, HC directs court to spare time to conclude the trial at the earliest
* Apr 2, 2008: Final arguments conclude
* Apr 28, 2008: Court convicts the ex-Army officer for murdering Sikand by using explosives
* May 3, 2008: Life sentence awarded to Chaudhary

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