Manu Sharma questions Bina Ramani's testimony in Jessica murder case

Manu Sharma questions Bina Ramani's testimony in Jessica murder case

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani on Wednesday continued to defend Manu Sharma in the Jessica Lall murder case by criticising the Delhi High Court (HC) bench for rejecting the report on ballistic expert, Roop Singh, on the ground that only a Photostat copy of it was provided to the court. As Reported by Hindustan Times

Quoting from a trial court's ruling, Jethmalani told the bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Swatanter Kumar that the lower court had said the 'evidence of Bina Ramani is of no help to present case'.

Socialite Ramani, in whose Tamarind Court Cafe restaurant at Qutub Colonnade in south Delhi Lall was shot dead on the night between April 29 and 30, 1999, had told the court that after hearing the gun shot she had accosted Manu Sharma and asked him to hand over the gun to her and had even chased him as he fled the spot.

Jethmalani said the prosecution had made a case that out of two bullets fired from the .22 pistol, one hit the ceiling and another got embedded in the victim’s brain.

“The Division Bench of the High Court had gone berserk,” he added, stating the HC had termed the two-weapon theory as concoction and even cast aspersions on the trial court judge.

Jethmalani denied there was any manipulation of evidence, as held by the HC. 'And there were no independent witnesses,' he said.

Jethmalani added that Ramani was relied upon as the prosecution’s star witness. However, the account of eye-witness Shayan Munshi who was working as a bar tender along with Lall, was not heeded. Jethmalani claimed Ramani was under police pressure to give statement of a particular type as she was facing an excise case, he said.

The senior advocate said the Delhi Police had threatened Ramani, George Mailhot and their daughter that they would be dragged into a case the Excise department had registered against them.