Delhi Police officers escort Sanjeev Nanda (centre) to prison after he was convicted for homicide.
© AFP Prakash Singh NEW DELHI (AFP) - Sanjeev Nanda, who is also the grandson of a former Indian naval chief, was found guilty on Tuesday of killing six people in a hit-and-run incident nearly a decade ago when he drunkenly smashed his BMW car through a police check post.
The verdict was widely hailed by the media and legal experts as punching a hole in the shield of wealth and influence that has often protected India's elite from the law.
But there were also warnings against undue celebration given the extraordinary length of the trial and its history of witness intimidation and corrupt lawyers.
"By the time there is closure, the saying that 'justice delayed is justice denied' would have been taken to absurd lengths," The Times of India wrote in an editorial.
The intense media interest in the so-called "BMW case" focused on Nanda's well-connected background. As the trial slowly dragged on, he was often seen partying with the rich and the famous while out on bail.
Nanda faces up to 10 years in jail when the sentence is handed down Friday, but the defence is almost sure to appeal.
"When the accused is someone powerful, they try to delay proceedings by any means and force repeated adjournments by the court," said Supreme Court lawyer and activist Sanjay Parikh.
A woman walks past luxury goods for sale in New Delhi.
© AFP/File Manan VatsyayanaIn the case of Nanda's hit-and-run, the sole survivor and other witnesses retracted their testimony and both the defence and prosecution lawyers were shown striking a deal with a witness to help the accused in an undercover television report last year.
In announcing its guilty verdict, the court highlighted the threat power and influence posed to the idea of a fair trial in India.
"The entire criminal justice system should sit up to find effective ways and means to tackle a situation where wealthy and highly-placed persons are able to thwart the entire course of justice," said Judge Vinod Kumar, who also praised the role of the media.
"Because there was pressure from the media and the public, it has taken 10 years, otherwise court cases can drag on much longer," Parikh said.
Indian courts face a massive backlog, with more than 30 million cases pending across the country because of extensive paper work and frequent adjournments.
The anti-corruption body Transparency International recently estimated that clearing the backlog would require India's 670 judges to work flat out for 350 years.
Other long-running cases involving celebrities or high-society figures include Bollywood star Salman Khan, who is out on bail pending his appeal against a five-year prison term for killing protected wildlife in 1998.
Actor Sanjay Dutt is also on bail pending an appeal against a six-year-term in jail for possessing illegal weapons bought from the plotters of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts which killed 257 people.
In recent years, high-profile cases such as Nanda's have faced intense media and public scrutiny, and in one instance led to a retrial.
Two years ago, a court retried and jailed the son of a well-known politician for the murder of a fashion model in 1999 after widespread public outrage over his initial acquittal on the grounds of lack of evidence.
Suresh Nanda and his mother leave a court in New Delhi after Suresh's son, Sanjeev Nanda, was convicted for homicide.
© AFP Prakash SinghThe model was shot at close range in front of scores of well-heeled residents of Delhi at an upscale club when she refused the man a drink, but most witnesses turned "hostile" in court.
Another powerful man convicted for his role in the model's murder was found guilty this year of killing his sister's boyfriend in 2002 as he did not approve of their relationship in one of the most watched trials in the country.
In that case, the victim's mother led a relentless media campaign against the accused, also the son of a politician.
"Most of these cases would have been forgotten in two years if the media had not followed them closely," lawyer Parikh said.
©AFP