SC adjourns Manu Sharma's appeal till Feb 12

New Delhi, Jan 24: The Supreme Court today adjourned till February 12 the hearing of the appeal filed by Manu Sharma undergoing life imprisonment in the Jessica Lal murder case.

Sharma alias Siddharth Vashisht, son of former Haryana Minister Vinod Sharma, had challenged his conviction and sentence in the murder case. The acquittal of Sharma and other accused by the trial court had led to huge public outcry and subsequently the Delhi High Court reversed the order of acquittal and sentenced Sharma to life imprisonment holding him guilty of killing Jessica Lall for refusing liquor to him and his friends, in odd hours in night in 1999 at a restuarant, run by socialite Bina Ramani in Mehrauli. Vikas Yadav, son of former Rajya Sabha member D P Yadav, is also serving four years imprisonment for the destruction of evidence.

The present Commissioner of Delhi Police Y S Dhadwal was transferred out of Delhi on the allegations that he was present on the spot along with other senior police officers of the state at the time of the commission of crime.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices R V Raveendran and J M Panchal adjourned the hearing. Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani is appearing for Sharma who is also seeking suspension of sentence and his release on bail till the final disposal of his appeal by the apex court.

UNI