Jessica case: Manu Sharma convicted

BSE | NSE 10/02/12

The Delhi High Court on Monday overturned a lower court verdict to convict Manu Sharma in the sensational Jessica Lall murder case.The court has also found co-accused Vikas Yadav and Amardeep Gill guilty, while acquitting five others. Vikas Yadav and Amardeep Singh Gill alias Tony were found guilty of conspiracy and destruction of evidence.

"I am extremely delighted. It's a victory for. We have to complement the judicial system and the media," says former Joint Police Commissioner, Amod Kant.He added that police used the same evidence that they had used at the time of investigations in 1999.

Jessica, a ramp-model, had been killed on April 29, 1999 during a party at South Delhi's Tamarind Court restaurant, in full view of hundreds of high-profile guests, including a top-ranking Delhi Police officer. Jessica was shot dead when she was tending the bar.

The first FIR in the case was filed by model-turned-actor Shayan Munshi, who was standing right next to her when the murder took place. In the following week, four men present in the party were charged with killing Jessica. The main accused were all men who wielded political influence.

The case had been reopened earlier this year after a massive public outcry following a lower court verdict acquitting all the nine accused in the case, including Manu Sharma. A Delhi court had on February 21, 2006 acquitted Manu Sharma and Vikas Yadav, sons of Congress politicians, along with seven other co-accused in the sensational murder case.

The High Court verdict came after a total of 25 hearings since the case was reopened in March. The Delhi Police had registered a case against unknown persons for tampering of evidence and criminal conspiracy in the wake of strong criticism for its shoddy investigation that helped the acquittal of the accused.

A bench comprising Justices R S Sodhi and P K Bhasin had earlier reserved its verdict for December 18 after the appeal proceedings were closed on November 29.

The case has seen several twists and turns, particularly after former Union law minister and noted criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani decided to take up the defence of accused Manu Sharma.

Jethmalani had on November 8 shocked the nation when he claimed in the Delhi High Court that it was 'a tall Sikh gentleman' who fired at and killed Jessica on the fateful night seven years ago. Defending Manu, he had argued that he had enough evidence to prove it and would reveal his identity later.

Jethmalani had also moved a plea of transferring the case to another bench since on the grounds that there were media reports against Justices R S Sodhi. However, this was rejected by the High Court.

Attacking the media for "running a vilified campaign against his client Manu Sharma", Jethmalani had gone on to say that media was acting in an 'unjust' way in portraying his client as guilty and that the whole case has become a trial by the media.

He has also defended his decision of taking up the defence of Manu Sharma, citing that any professional lawyer is free to choose his client.