Priyadarshini Mattoo case: Victim's father dismayed, CBI satisfied

Father of Delhi University law student Priyadarshini Mattoo, who was raped and then killed by Santosh Kumar Singh nearly 14 years ago, today expressed dissatisfaction over the commuting of the death penalty to life term.

"I am not satisfied with the sentence. This can be discussed only by the legal experts as it is quite evident that even the Supreme Court has upheld the verdict of the Delhi high court," Chaman Lal Mattoo said.

The CBI counsel, however, hailed the outcome of the 14-year-old-case saying, "the probe agency is satisfied as the verdict of the Delhi high court has been upheld."

Observing that the high and mighty convicts manage to come out early despite being sentenced to life term, the victim's father said, "It is not clear as to what would be the duration of the imprisonment."

There have been various instances where the convicts have managed to come out, he said, adding, "This is the danger. The case has not met the right treatment by the apex court."

He expressed gratitude to the civil society for its support in fighting the cause of justice.

Mattoo's lawyer Ashok Bhan said that he would file a review or curative petition seeking enhancement of the punishment after going through the verdict.

"He was not an ordinary criminal and, therefore, it (case) was the rarest of rare category," he said.

Bhan also termed the judgment as a "setback" to Mattoo's family.

A Supreme Court bench of Justice HS Bedi and Justice CK Prasad upheld the conviction of Santosh Kumar Singh, son of a former IPS officer, in the case but reduced his death sentence to life imprisonment.