13 years of twists and turns

The 13-year-old hit-and-run case involving Sanjeev Nanda has finally come to an end with the Supreme Court's verdict on Friday.

The 13-year-old hit-and-run case involving Sanjeev Nanda has finally come to an end with the Supreme Court's verdict on Friday.

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The case was under constant media glare throughout the duration of the trial not just because the accused is grandson of former naval chief Admiral S M Nanda and son of an arms dealer, but also because controversies dogging the case kept it in news.

The case witnessed several twists and turns such as its star witness, Pune-based businessman Sunil Kulkarni, turning hostile and senior advocate RK Anand being caught in a sting operation for allegedly influencing the witness.

Kulkarni surfaced as an eyewitness in the case a week after the accident in 1999. Senior officials of Delhi Police then claimed the businessman's statement to the police was clinching evidence against Nanda.

At the time of the crash, Kulkarni was on his way to the railway station. He claimed Nanda was driving the BMW at high speed and that he (Nanda) even got out inspect the damage to the car after the accident.

But seven years later, Kulkarni was dropped by the prosecution and declared an "unreliable witness". He was, however, summoned as a court witness in July 2007. Kulkarni turned hostile and denied having seen Nanda at the accident site. "I can only speak about the physique of the occupants of the car as I did not see them clearly," he said during his cross- examination.

Much before this twist, there was another controversy that rocked the case.

In a sting operation, Nanda's then counsel senior advocate RK Anand was caught influencing Kulkarni to depose in his client's favour. The expose also showed an alleged deal being struck between Anand and special public prosecutor in the case, IU Khan.

Taking a suo-motu cognisance of the sting operation telecast by NDTV, the Delhi High Court had in 2008 stripped Anand and Khan of their designation as senior advocates and barred them from appearing in courts.

On an appeal by Anand, the apex court had upheld the HC verdict for Anand but had let Khan off the hook by striking down his conviction. But it warned him that his behaviour was unbecoming of a public prosecutor and it will make Khan's rehabilitation little less celebratory.

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