16 Nov, 2006. NEW DELHI: Chipping away the testimony of prosecution's "sheet-anchor" Bina Ramani, senior advocate Ram Jethmalani said on Wednesday that even if her entire statement was taken at face value, it cannot be proved that Manu Sharma shot Jessica Lall. The senior counsel raised doubts over Bina's deposition before the trial court, in which she claimed to have seen Jessica "falling down", while she ran into the accused, along with Shayan Munshi.  Claiming that Bina concocted the story, he told a bench comprising justices R S Sodhi and P K Bhasin that she had "indulged in falsehoods"and was compelled by the police to give an induced statement. "I wonder why your lordships have not yet asked me to stop my arguments. The prosecution's case has been totally demolished by contradictory statements of their witnesses,"Jethmalani said as he narrated the testimonies of Madan Kumar and Jitender. Both had stated they entered Tamarind Court with Bina after Jessica was shot, and that all three had wrapped Jessica in a white bedsheet, before rushing her to a hospital. Jethmalani argued that Bina's evidence had been demolished by the statement of these two prosecution witnesses, "Her evidence does not advance the prosecution case at all. Only Shayan Munshi saw who shot Jessica Lall and he has said it was not Manu Sharma."He also questioned on what basis Bina claimed she had seen Manu with Shayan after the shooting. "Shayan in his testimony never mentioned anything about Manu, and she too has not stated anywhere in her testimony that the fatal shot came from Manu." Turning to Malini Ramani's statement next, Jethmalani reiterated that the police had compelled her to concoct a story that Manu demanded whisky from her minutes before the crime, and had even passed vulgar comments when she refused. 

"If at 1.45 am Malini was searching for a drink, reasonable inference is she must have been sozzled. How could she recognise if the man was Manu or somebody else? And why did her companion Sanjay Mehtani not react when Malini was insulted? He acted like a doormat and was not even made a witness in the case,"he argued. 
The police were also faulted for showing Manu's photograph to Malini while recording her statement at the police station, so that she identified him in court and "not the man who met her at the party". The veteran advocate also pulled up the police for the delay in recording Malini's statement which, he claimed, was enough to put pressure on her

'It's a double murder of Jessical'
Kolkata, November 10: Senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani was criticised by CPM Politburo member Brinda Karat for ‘indulging in character assassination’ in his submissions in the Jessica Lall murder case in the Delhi High Court Commenting on Jethmalani's submission before a Bench of the High Court on Thursday and his claim that Jessica was killed because she refused ‘something else’ other than liqour to a man, Karat said, "What he (Jethmalani) has said is shocking and outrageous." 
“It is character assassination and double murder of Jessica Lall who is not there to defend herself. He justified male sexual agression. He should have been asked to shut up," Karat said.
"Jethmalani is a senior lawyer and a colleague of mine in the Rajya Sabha. I did not expect that he would stoop so low," she said.

A tall Sikh, not Manu, shot Jessica: Jethmalani
NEW DELHI: New Delhi: There's a new twist in the Jessica Lall murder case. Manu Sharma's defence lawyer Ram Jethmalani says it wasn't his client, but "a tall, Sikh man" who had shot the model dead. Jethmalani also says he has enough evidence to prove who this man was and would reveal his identity in the next few days.
"Jethmalani said his client had been implicated by this man because he was more powerful," says R D Rana, a Delhi High Court lawyer.
This revelation was made by Jethmalani while he was countering the testimony of witness Deepak Bhojwani. 
Bhojwani had told the trial court that he had met a chubby, short, plump man in white T-Shirt, who had identified himself as Manu Sharma in the party.
 

New Delhi: It seems that senior counsel and Manu Sharma's defence lawyer, Ram Jethmalani is out to shock the High Court with new arguments everyday. On Thursday, Jethmalani told the court that model Jessica Lall was not murdered because she had refused to serve a drink after Tamarind Court's bar had closed down but because of some other severe motive.Jethmalani suggested that the drink controversy was just a cover up for all the "other kind of activities" that went on Tamarind Court.He said that Jessica Lall had "challenged the manhood of the man who shot her".
Jethmalani has also demanded that the report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Delhi Police be made public. He said that the tall, Sikh gentleman - whom he mentioned on Wednesday - has been dealt with in the SIT.
On Wednesday Jethmalani had said that it wasn't his client, but "a tall, Sikh gentleman" who had shot the model dead.
He also said that he had enough evidence to prove who this man was and would reveal his identity in the next few days.
"Jethmalani said his client had been implicated by this man because he was more powerful," said a Delhi High Court lawyer, R D Rana.
This revelation was made by Jethmalani while he was countering the testimony of witness Deepak Bhojwani.
Bhojwani had told the trial court that he had met a chubby, short, plump man in white T-Shirt, who had identified himself as Manu Sharma in the party.
They were about to exchange cards when a tall Sikh man took Manu away. Prosecution had argued this man was actually Manu's friend Tony Gill. But Jethmalani says Tony wore a green turban while the man who took Manu away, had a red one.
"The tall Sikh gentleman seems to be one of the accused, Tony Singh Gill, but I presume he is not talking about him. I have never heard of such a theory," says Jessica Lall's sister, Sabrina Lall.
Jethmalani says the man who shot Jessica manged to escape the media and the police's glare too and if he manages to convince the court with this argument, he will not only save his client but also prove how Delhi Police botched up investigations to save some one who they thought was above law.
Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani gave another bizarre twist to the Jessica murder case, stunning a packed courtroom on Thursday when he asserted that a tall Sikh man had fired the shots that killed Jessica Lall. 
The senior advocate had earlier claimed in court that Manu Sharma, his client and the main accused in the case, was not present at the Tamarind Court party in which the murder took place. On Thursday, Jethmalani went a step ahead. 
Basing his theory on the evidence and the site map of the murder submitted by the police, he said that a "Sikh gentleman" had shot Jessica. He, however, immediately added that he wasn’t accusing his client's friend, Amardeep Singh Gill, also a co-accused in the case. Gill was charged with destruction of evidence and harbouring Manu Sharma.
Jethmalani showed the site map to the High Court Bench of Justices R S Sodhi and P K Bhasin and said, according to the police, this Sikh man was standing at point F. The police chargesheet had stated that the bullet was shot from point G, where Manu Sharma was allegedly standing. 
The octogenarian lawyer used the statement of prosecution witness and Jessica’s friend, Deepak Bhojwani, to support his contention.
 

Jessica case: Jethmalani's plea dismissed
7 Nov, 2006. NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed an application by prime accused Manu Sharma seeking transfer of Jessica Lall murder case to another court saying that the hearing cannot be allowed to be derailed since a lot of argument had taken place. 

In his application, Sharma's counsel Ram Jethmalani sought that the bench of Justice R S Sodhi and Justice P K Bhasin, which is hearing the present appeal, to refuse from hearing the matter as one newspaper had carried a report saying that Justice Sodhi refused to hear Manu's bail plea in 2002 as he (Justice Sodhi) had been approached by someone. 

The Bench also observed that upto the High Court level, "we adopt an open court hearing of every case and they are open to public debate, discussion and criticism. 

"Insulating ourselves will result in a great injustice to the parties involved in the matter," the Bench added. 

The Bench will hear tomorrow an appeal filed by Delhi Police challenging Sharma's acquittal by a trial court, after Jethmalani said he will consider his position and inform the court. 

After the order, Jethmalani said he had not yet decided whether to challenge it in Supreme Court and whether to appear at all on behalf of Manu or not.
 

In Manu’s defence, Jethmalani seeks transfer of Jessica murder case
 

lawyer Ram Jethmalani

Mr Justice R. S. Sodhi

New Delhi, November 3. In a new twist to the proceedings in the Jessica Lall murder case appeal, noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani, the counsel for prime accused Manu Sharma, moved the Delhi High Court wanting the Bench including Justice R S Sodhi to recuse itself from hearing it.
Model Jessica Lall murder case key accused Manu Sharma today made a plea through his counsel Ram Jethmalani to transfer the case from a division Bench of the Delhi High Court to another Bench if it felt that there was media pressure on it the wake of a recent report in a newspaper.

Jethmalani moved an application to this effect before a Bench of Mr Justice R. S. Sodhi and Mr Justice P K Bhasin, in which his client also sought to initiate contempt action against the newspaper.

The court issued notices on the application to the parties concerned, including the newspaper, seeking their replies by November 7.

Jethmalani said though he was under pressure from media not to appear in the case but he would continue to defend his client and would not succumb to such pressure.

Jethmalani said if the judges, specially Mr Justice Sodhi to whom the newspaper report had made certain references about his statement during the hearing of Manu’s bail application in 2002, wanted to “recuse” himself from the case, he could do so and transfer it to some other Bench.

He said such media reports amounted to casting aspersion on the court and had the potential to apprehend prejudice.

Following his submission, Mr Justice Sodhi observed that the court was aware of the newspaper report but it was not going to make any effect on it and the Bench was also not going to “succumb” to such developments.

The court told Jethmalani to continue to argue the case and it would hear the application moved by him on November 7 after the replies were filed by the parties concerned.

As Delhi police counsel Mukta Gupta said that the prosecution also want to file a reply, the court said it was up to it whether it wanted to respond to the application or not.

At the same time the court also said it knew how media was used in such sensitive cases, which had been hogging the headlines all through.

Mr Justice Sodhi clarified that the he had not made the statement attributed to him in the newspaper in the manner it was tried to be projected when the bail application had come up for hearing before him in 2002.

The high court is hearing the appeal of Delhi Police against the acquittal of Manu Sharma by the trial court in the murder of Jessica Lall. The prosecution had alleged that he shot dead the ramp motel a restaurant here in April 1999. Several of his close friends and relatives were also accused in the case for harbouring and helping him after the crime.

Manu Sharma confesses Jessica's murder

Sting Operation Jessica case by Tehelka and Star TV

No one killed Jessica Lal