Mr. Jethmalani told the Bench, which included Justices R.V. Raveendran and J.M. Panchal, that Manu Sharma’s appeal was against the Delhi High Court judgment reversing the trial court order of acquittal. He said he could demonstrate in no time how the judgment was perverse warranting interference. Instead of taking up the bail application, the court could dispose of the main appeal and he would require three days to argue the case, counsel said.

The Chief Justice said if Mr. Jethmalani was prepared to complete his arguments in two days and Additional Solicitor-General, Gopal Subramaniam, for the CBI, in one day, the matter could be taken up on Tuesday itself.

Mr. Jethmalani said if the appeal was not heard now, interim bail could be granted to Manu Sharma. The Chief Justice said that as life imprisonment had been awarded, interim bail was not possible. “Hearing the 2007 appeal in 2008 itself is a big concession,” he said. The prosecution case was that Jessica Lal was shot dead on the intervening night of April 29-30, 1999 at a party in south Delhi.

The trial court on February 21, 2006 acquitted all the nine accused on the ground of lack of evidence. However, the High Court on December 20, 2006 reversed the acquittal. In his appeal, Manu Sharma, son of the senior Congress leader Venod Sharma, said that after an elaborate trial and after appreciating oral and documentary evidence the trial court acquitted him. He alleged that he did not get a fair trial in the High Court because of pressure from the media which, through a “malicious and vicious campaign” during the hearing, browbeat the court as well as counsel.

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