Grover case: Jerome gets 10 yrs, Maria walks free

Three years after the brutal killing of television executive Neeraj Grover, a Mumbai court on Friday sentenced former navy officer Emile Jerome to 10 years in jail for the murder of television executive Neeraj Grover.

The court also handed a 3-year jail term as applicable under Part 2 of Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code to Kannada actress Maria Susairaj. However, Maria has already spent the time in jail. So technically, she walks free.

Reacting to the verdict, Maria said: "I am just blank now. How do you expect a convicted person to be happy."

The court set aside the prosecution's demand for maximum punishment for both the accused under Part 2 of Section 201 and accepted the defence argument that the murder had not been proved.

The court also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 each on Emile and Maria.

On Thursday, the court had held that it was not a premeditated murder and absolved Maria and her boyfriend Emile of the murder charge.

In a judgement that evoked sharp reaction, the court convicted Jerome only on the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 (part I) IPC which attracts life term in jail or imprisonment up to 10 years.

Both he and Maria were also found guilty of causing disappearance of evidence under section 201 IPC, which provides for a maximum three years in jail.

Giving his reasons for the conviction on a lesser offence, Sessions court judge M V Chandwani held that Jerome had acted on the spur of the moment and that the killing was not premeditated. Grover's body was hacked into pieces after the murder.

"When he entered the room he was calm. This showed he did not have intention (to murder). Obviously for a fiance, in a situation where he finds a stranger with his partner, would upset a prudent man and he would lose control," the judge remarked.

The court accepted the confession of Maria which she said was voluntary and connected Jerome with the killing of Grover.

According to the prosecution, Jerome had gone to Maria's residence in suburban Malad on May 7, 2008 where he got into a fight with Grover, 26, during which the naval officer stabbed the victim to death. Susairaj and Jerome later cut the body of Grover into pieces and disposed it of in Manor forest in neighbouring Thane.