The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on Monday in the Jessica Lall murder case in which prime accused Manu Sharma has challenged his conviction and life sentence awarded by the Delhi High Court. A Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and Swantanter Kumar had reserved its verdict on February 18. Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani,appearing for Manu Sharma alias Siddharth Vasisth,had assailed the High Court verdict which had set aside the trial court judgement acquitting the accused. He had alleged that the High Court Bench had made up its mind to hold Sharma guilty. Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium had submitted that there was sufficient evidence against Manu Sharma for his involvement in the crime. The prosecution had said Lall was shot dead allegedly by Manu Sharma at the Tamarind Court Cafe restaurant owned by socialite Bina Ramani at Qutub Colonade in South Delhi on the night of April 29,1999. The trial court verdict acquitting Sharma on February 21,2006,was set aside by the High Court on December 18,2006. The High Court had held guilty two other accused in the case - Vikas Yadav and Amarjeet Singh Gill - for destruction of evidence. They have also challenged their conviction and four years' jail sentence. Manu Sharma is the son of senior Haryana Congress leader Venod Sharma while Yadav is the son of controversial Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav.
