Sanjeev Nanda jailed for five years in BMW case

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Sanjeev Nanda, whose drunken driving killed six people a decade ago, was jailed for five years on Friday in a case seen as a test of Indian courts' fairness in judging the rich and powerful.

Nanda, the son of a wealthy arms dealer and grandson of a former navy chief, pleaded innocent in the case that saw the convict's family being accused of trying to bribe witnesses into lying.

The media kept up pressure on the high-profile case in a country where the judiciary is often accused of favouring the wealthy and powerful.

"I found Sanjeev Nanda guilty," judge Vinod Kumar said, sentencing him to five years in prison.

The court also jailed three other defendants for six months to a year on charges of destroying evidence in the case which came to be known as the BMW case after the car Nanda was driving.

Nanda's lawyer said they would appeal before a higher court within a week.

Prosecutors said Nanda, who was a student of the Wharton School of Business and on holiday in India, was returning from a party with two friends when he ran over seven people.

Six, including three policemen, were killed.