Jessica Lal case: 'Ramani's story was concocted'

Defence Counsel in the Jessica Lal murder case Ram Jethmalani on Wednesday claimed before the Delhi High Court that key witness Bina Ramani's evidence was false as she was compelled to give statements against prime accused Manu Sharma.

Contending that Bina had concocted the story due to police pressure, he told a bench comprising Justice R S Sodhi and Justice P K Bhasin that her statement that she had seen

Jessica falling on the floor soon after the incident and that she had chased Sharma was an after thought to support the police.

"She was compelled by the police to say so and her statement is induced. She had also compromised with the truth," he argued.

Claiming that her evidence was demolished by the statement of two other prosecution witnesses, he said: "I have 14 reasons to show that how her evidence does not advance the prosecution case at all."

Referring to the testimonies of Jitender Raj and Madan, Jethmalami said that according to the statement of these witnesses, Bina was outside the cafe when the incident took place and she entered the cafe along with both of them.

"Bina (Ramani) has accused the person (Sharma) who had accompanied Shyan in the party but Shyan in his testimony was not saying anything about that man (Sharma)," he argued, claiming: "She had even not stated anywhere in testimony that the fatal shot came from Manu."

Jethmalani also raised doubts about Sharma's identification by Ramani in the court during her testimony and said there was scientific deficiency in the identification.

During the testimony, Ramani had touched the accused and said: "I think he is the same person whom I was chasing on the fateful night."

Arguing that 'identification in the court is useless unless the capacity to identify and actual identification is corroborated by properly held identification parade,' he said in this case no TIP was carried out by the prosecution.

"The substantive evidence actually given in the court if that itself is weak then the evidence becomes zero and that is totally worthless," Sharma's lawyer told the court.

He urged the court to give some ruling for enactment of a law as there was no law for proper identification of the accused in the country.

Saying that Malini was 'sozzled,' Jethmalani also questioned her testimony and alleged the prosecution and police had attempted to show her as an eye-witness in the case after concocting her presence in the case whereas she was not at all present in the cafe.

She was a 'fabricated' witness as her entry into the bar and conversation with accused for liquor was fabricated, the senior lawyer contended.

"Her story of getting fainted after Jessica was shot is a story like producing false medical certificate in court for an adjournment. She had nothing relevant to give to police," Jethmalani said.

This evidence was not admissible under law. She was under the pressure from police as well as the press for not co-operating the investigation in the case and she had given her statement under duress, he added.