A city court New Delhi sentenced a man to death for...

A city court New Delhi sentenced a man to death for burning his wife after she failed to arrange for Rs 5,000 as dowry.
Passing the sentence on 25-year-old Sunil Kumar Mandal, additional sessions judge R K Gauba rejected a plea for leniency.
"It is ironic that a person who acted so ruthlessly towards a hapless and helpless person should talk of mercy," the judge observed.
Mandal set his newlywed wife Anita on fire in her father's Mayapuri house on July 1, 1999, after she said she could not arrange a dowry for Rs 5,000. He torched her and shut the door from inside for about five minutes to ensure that she was burnt completely and that her parents, who were sleeping outside, could not come to her rescue.
"There was no provocation from the victim's side and the convict was mentally alert. That he had selected an opportune moment to commit the murder and escape shows that the crime was premeditated," Singh argued.
"He may be hanged by neck till he is dead, the execution of the sentence being subject to confirmation by the Delhi High Court," the judge ruled.
The convict was served the copy of the order immediately and has 30 days to appeal.