Jessica murder: Supreme Court dismisses Manu Sharma's plea against life term

The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea of Manu Sharma, son of senior Congress leader Venod Sharma, seeking review of the judgement sentencing him to life imprisonment for killing model Jessica Lal 11 years ago."There is no merit in the plea," a bench comprising justices P Sathasivam and Swatanter Kumar said refusing to interfere with its April 19 verdict in which it had said that Sharma's guilt was proved beyond reasonable doubt.The bench said the review petition is being dismissed on the same grounds on which the appeal against the Delhi high court verdict was rejected.It also disallowed the review petition of Amardeep Singh Gill alias Tony Gill, then an MNC executive, who was convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment along with Vikas Yadav, son of controversial Uttar Pradesh politician DP Yadav, for destruction of evidence.The apex court in its 229-page judgement had concurred with the findings of the Delhi High Court and had said that the presence of the accused (Manu Sharma) at the scene of crime was proved through the testimonies of prosecution witnesses which were corroborated by the three calls made to the police control room (PCR) after the incident.Jessica, 34, was shot dead by Manu Sharma alias Siddharth Vashisht at the Tamarind Court Cafe restaurant owned by socialite Bina Ramani at Qutub Colonnade in South Delhi where she had hosted a party for her Canadian husband George Mailhot on the intervening night of April 29-30, 1999.Manu had asked Jessica, working as a bar-tender, for a drink. When she refused, he shot her and fled the spot. 

"The evidence regarding the actual incident, the testimonies of witnesses, the evidence connecting the vehicles and cartridges to the accused Manu Sharma, as well as his conduct after the incident prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The high court has analysed all the evidence and arrived at the correct conclusion," the court had said.The bench, which had dismissed the appeals filed by them, said, "in the case in hand, the high court by adhering to all the ingredients and by giving cogent and adequate reasons reversed the order of acquittal".The high court had on December 18, 2006 set aside the acquittal of Sharma and others by the trial court on February 21, 2006.