HC declines to shift case to CBI

HC declines to shift case to CBI
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, DEC 17: The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to transfer the Jessica Lal murder case to CBI and disposed of a petition in this regard after pursuing the Delhi police crime branch records on the investigation.A Division Bench comprising Justices Anil Dev Singh and R S Sodhi disposed of the petition of Bhrashtachar Virodhi Morcha (BVM) in an in-camera hearing after examining the records and statements of certain witnesses, BVM counsel Mohammed Sajid told reporters after the hearing.

Police counsel S S Gandhi earlier proposed to show the records to the judges. According to Sajid, the court said police had taken adequate measures to probe the case and observed that the chargesheet has already been filed and trial was going on in the lower court and, therefore, there was no necessity to keep the petition pending.

BVM had sought a CBI probe into the case on the ground that the investigation was ``lopsided'' and it had not taken any action against certain suspects and socialite Bina Ramani in whose``illegal'' restaurant the murder took place on April 30. Sajid said he brought to the court's notice that Ramani should have been charged with destruction of evidence as she allegedly allowed washing the blood stains from the floor and ``helped'' main accused Manu Sharma flee from the scene of the crime.

The police counsel during the last hearing had stated that the floor was washed by a servant at the instruction of a guest. He also had informed the court that action against Ramani, her husband George Mailhot and their daughter Malani were being taken under the Excise Act for running an illegal bar.

Police in its chargesheet had accused Chandigarh-based Congress leader's son Manu Sharma of shooting Jessica Lal with his revolver in Bina Ramani's restaurant when she refused to serve him liquor late at night on April 30.The police had also charged Rajya Sabha MP D P Yadav's son Vikas Yadav with harbouring Manu Sharma. About a dozen persons, mostly Manu Sharma's friends and relatives, were also charged withproviding him shelter after the alleged crime.

The High Court had during last hearing pulled up the police for not recording the statement of the servant who had washed the floor. BVM counsel on Friday told reporters after the in-camera hearing that police produced the recorded statement of the servant saying that they traced him in his village in UP hills.