Maria gets 3 yrs, boyfriend Jerome 10 in Grover murder case

Mumbai (PTI) - South Indian actress Maria
Susairaj could walk free soon after she was awarded a maximum
three years' imprisonment which she has already served during
trial and her boyfriend and former Navy officer Emile Jerome
got a 10-year jail term in the macabre murder of Neeraj
Grover.
A day after absolving Maria(30) and Jerome(28) of
murder charge, Sessions court Judge N W Chandwani while
pronouncing the quantum of sentence Friday also ordered the
two to together pay a fine of Rs 1,50,000 and that the
recovered amount be paid to the victim's father.
Maria can walk free anytime and Jerome will have to be
behind bars only for seven more years since they have already
been in jail for three years as undertrials.
"Giving him (Jerome) ten years would serve justice",
Sessions Judge N W Chandwani said while pronouncing the
sentence to the former Navy officer held guilty of culpable
homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 IPC.
Jerome was also sentenced to three years imprisonment
for causing disappearance of evidence under section 201 IPC.
Both the sentences would run concurrently.
"I am still to prove my innocence," Jerome told
reporters after the sentence was pronounced and said he would
appeal in a higher court against the verdict.
The judge awarded a three-year jail term to Maria, a
model and struggling actress who was also held guilty of
trying to destroy evidence.
Jerome was ordered to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 for the
offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and an
equal amount for causing disappearance of evidence. Maria was
fined Rs 50,000 for hiding evidence.
Neeraj's grieving father Amarnath Grover described the
sentence as an acquittal for Maria. "Why were Jerome and Maria
given different sentences, when both were there when Neeraj
was killed and his body brutally disposed of," he asked.
"Both are equally responsible for the murder," Amarnath
said, adding "I do not need any money."
During hearing of arguments, Public Prosecutor R V Kini
sought life term for Jerome while the former naval officer's
counsel Wahab Khan pleaded for minimum sentence considering
the fact that he was not a habitual offender.
Kini sought seven years imprisonment for Maria, calling
her an "active player" in the crime. At one stage, he even
said the crime warranted "capital punishment".
Maria's counsel Sharif Sheikh contended that she had
already served three years in jail as provided under section
201 of Indian Penal Code and "keeping her in jail for more
days would be like illegal confinement".
Maintaining that she was not a habitual offender,
Sheikh pleaded for lighter sentence considering her young age.
A section of the legal fraternity has voiced its
anguish at how Maria and Jerome could get away with lighter
punishment in the brutal killing of Neeraj, a 25-year-old TV
executive.
Despite the macabre manner in which Neeraj was killed and
his body hacked into tiny pieces, the court had Thursday
absolved the two accused of the more serious charge of murder,
saying it was committed on the spur of the moment and was not
premeditated.
Both the accused had been charged by the prosecution
with murder, criminal conspiracy, common intention and causing
disappearance of evidence.
During arguments on the quantum of sentence, Kini sought
life term for Jerome saying that Neeraj was repeatedly stabbed
with the intent to kill.
Being a defence officer he could have easily overpowered
Grover and there was no need for him to repeatedly stab the
victim which showed that his intention was to kill, he said.
That Jerome, who had joined the navy to protect the
people, stabbed and killed Grover and chopped his body into
pieces also reflected his intention, Kini said.
Jerome's lawyer Wahab Khan while pleading for minimum
sentence to the former naval officer said his conduct since
the beginning of the trial to the day of punishment had been
very good.
"He (Jerome) did not join a multinational corporation
but defence forces for the noble cause of serving the nation.
He joined the Indian Navy when just 18 and at the time of the
incident he was just a lieutenant," he said, adding the
convict had always cooperated in the investigation.
Noting that Jerome never wanted to kill Neeraj, Khan
quoted a witness at south Indian city Kochi to say that on his
return there after the incident he always appeared upset.
"After coming out of jail his anxiety will be to go
back to the naval base. Since childhood he had dreamt of
serving the nation and will access all options to rejoin the
navy," Khan said and showed the judge a newspaper report which
said the ex-naval officer was teaching inmates in jail.
Khan said Jerome should be given minimum punishment as
he has parents were dependent on him.
Kini sought seven years imprisonment for Maria,
calling her an "active player" in the crime as she not only
went to a shopping mall to buy a knife that was used to chop
the victim's body into pieces but also arranged for a car in
which it was carried to be disposed of in the forest.
He said Maria also tried to mislead the police by
claiming that Neeraj had gone missing when, in fact, he had
been killed. "The crime warrants capital punishment," he said.
"How do you expect a convicted person to be happy ...
I am blank," was Maria's terse response when asked to comment
on the verdict.
A sullen-faced Jerome's father, who did not reveal his
name, said "I do not want to speak. We are going through bad
times. I hope you understand."